Estonian President emphasizes importance of close cooperation in NATO

TALLINN  - Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid on Thursday participated in a summit between the heads of state of Central and Eastern European countries and U.S. President Donald Trump in Warsaw, where she emphasized the importance of close cooperation in NATO.

Topics discussed by the heads of state included questions concerning energy, transatlantic cooperation, and security in the region. In her speech at the discussion, Kaljulaid focused on the importance of cyber security. She said that even though every country has their own interests in mind, the countries are all connected regardless of the size of the country. "The European Union and U.S. together are definitely a stronger global power," the president said, adding that this is why it is important to maintain close cooperation in NATO, where the U.S. has a leading role.

"Every country has its role to play in this cooperation and Estonia has performed theirs. Yes, it is known that we are contributing 2 percent [of our GDP] to defense spending, but perhaps even more important than that is our contribution in the field of cyber security. People and businesses have been in the cyber sphere for a long time and government must not be the last to reach it. So far, Estonia is the only digital society in the world, which indicates that regardless of size, all democratic countries can contribute towards ensuring that we are stronger and more mutually beneficial together. Both in the physical and cyber space," the head of state said.

A summit of the so-called Three Seas Initiative took place in Warsaw on Thursday and brought together heads of state from Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and in exceptional circumstances also the United States of America. In the afternoon, Kaljulaid is scheduled to participate in a discussion on the future of Europe, transport, infrastructure, and energy as well as meet bilaterally with the Hungarian president.