BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN ALBANIA AND ESTONIA

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is one of the Baltic States and is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. The territory of Estonia has a population of 1.3 million inhabitants and covers a total area of 43,432 km². Tallinn is the capital of Estonia. The official language of the country is Estonian.

Estonia is a parliamentary republic. The unicameral parliament, Riigikogu, is elected for a four-year term by proportional representation, has 101 members and serves as the legislative and the government as the executive. The head of the state is the President who has primarily representative and ceremonial role. The president is elected by the Riigikogu, or by a special electoral college. The Prime Minister is recommended by the President and approved by the Riigikogu.

OVERVIEW

There are no open issues between the two countries. There is a common will to promote and strengthen the cooperation in more concrete terms. Estonia is determined to support Albania’s EU integration process and in particular the opening of negotiations. In this context, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, together with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, paid a visit to Albania, on 04-05 March 2020, with the aim of delivering a strong message of support for Albania’s efforts to opening of negotiations with the EU.

Albania remains in solidarity with the Baltic States, as a NATO member, with its troops to the NATO multinational battalion, the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Adazi, Latvia.

The latest visits include the visit in Estonia of the Minster of Defence of Albania, Mr. Niko Peleshi, on 2-3 June 2021; the visit in Estonia, on 01-02 October 2019, of the President of Albania, Mr. Ilir Meta and the visit in Estonia, on 07 February 2018, as part of a Baltic tour, of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ditmir Bushati. On 20 July 2020, the Acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, Mr. Gent Cakaj, held a joint video conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Mr. Urmas Reinsalu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Mr. Linas Linkevičius and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Mr. Edgars Rinkēvičs.

BILATERAL RELATIONS

The diplomatic relations with Estonia were established on 17 January 1992 and are evaluated historicly as very good relations. The exchange of high level visits is a key element for the revitalization of bilateral relations. Estonia has always supported Albania on its path to the NATO membership and the European integration into EU. In this context, on 01-02 October 2019, during the visit to Estonia of the President of Albania, Mr. Ilir Meta, a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of European Integration was signed. Estonia has a constructive attitude toward our region and supports the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of all the countries in the region, especially Kosovo.

The diplomatic coverage is realized by non-resident ambassadors, the relations with Estonia are covered by the Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Warsaw, Poland, while the relations with Albania are covered by the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Athens, Greece.

The Honorary Consulate of Estonia in Albania was officially opened in April 2010, during the visit of Prime Minister, Mr. Andrus Ansip in Tirana, after the appointment of the Honorary Consul, Mr. Sotiraq Guga, in spring 2009. Meanwhile, the Honorary Consulate of Albania in Estonia was officially inaugurated on 1 April 2022, after the appointment of the Honorary Consul, Mr. Tom Annikve, in 2019.