Estonian President discusses EU presidency with Latvian colleague

TALLINN - Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid met with her Latvian counterpart Raimonds Vejonis on Wednesday in Jurmala and discussed the EU presidency, security issues, Eastern Partnership, energy policy and joint infrastructure projects.

"Latvia's experience as the holder of the presidency of the Council of the European Union is still quite fresh and we definitely have things to learn from them. We discussed topics for which we have to find joint solutions during our EU presidency or at least move in the direction of, like the migration crisis, Brexit and digital issues," Kaljulaid said after the meeting, adding that the main goal is to keep the union united and decisive.

As the Eastern Partnership Summit is to take place in Brussels during Estonia's EU presidency, the two heads of state also discussed these issues at the meeting. "Eastern Partnership is a priority issue for both countries. At the same time the Eastern Partners are not a unitary block -- we have to look at each country and its achievements separately and support them in carrying out reforms," Kaljulaid said.

The presidents also discussed security issues. "Our countries' understanding of the security situation and what is happening around us is almost identical," she said, adding that both countries will also keep a close eye on the exercises to be held in the region in the coming months, although there is no reason to worry about that.

The two heads of state opened the Riga Stratcom Dialogue conference on Wednesday. From Riga Kaljulaid will head on to Warsaw in order to speak at a conference of the Atlantic Council and a summit of the Three Seas Initiative with U.S. President Donald Trump also in attendance this year.