Estonian PM visiting Berlin

TALLINN – Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is on a visit to Berlin on Tuesday, where she is meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier before being presented with an award by the Walther Rathenau Institut.

According to Kallas, the bilateral meetings will focus on Russia’s continuing aggression in Ukraine and assistance for Ukraine, as well as furthering relations between Estonia and Germany.

"Germany today stands closer to Estonia than ever before," she said. "That is reflected in our bilateral cooperation and in our collaboration in NATO and the EU."

Kallas and Scholz will also be speaking on stage together at a conference organized by the Friedrich August von Hayek Foundation dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the publication of the influential economist’s popular work "The Road to Serfdom".

While in Berlin, the Estonian head of government will receive the Walther Rathenau Prize, named after the former foreign minister of Germany. Awarded by the institute of the same name, it will be presented to Kallas by Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The prize is given for outstanding work in the field of foreign policy. Walther Rathenau was a German politician who served as the foreign minister of the Weimar Republic in 1922. He was assassinated by an ultra-nationalist paramilitary group.

As part of her visit to Berlin, the prime minister will also be attending the Europe 2024 conference, at which she will be discussing issues related to European defense.

Kallas will also be opening a business seminar being held at the Estonian embassy in Berlin.