The Indian government has decided to open an embassy in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, to help India expand its diplomatic footprint and deepen political relations.
In addition to Estonia, India is also opening its embassies in Paraguay and the Dominican Republic.
“Opening of Indian Missions in these countries will help expand India’s diplomatic footprint, deepen political relations, enable growth of bilateral trade, investment and economic engagements, facilitate stronger people-to-people contacts, bolster political outreach in multilateral fora and help garner support for India’s foreign policy objectives,” the Indian government said in a statement, dated 30 December 2020.
“The objective of our foreign policy is to build a conducive environment for India’s growth and development through partnerships with friendly countries. There are presently missions and posts across the world which serve as conduits of our relations with partner countries.”
India wishes to bolster its exports
The Indian government also said that the enhancement of its diplomatic presence will “provide market access for Indian companies and bolster Indian exports of goods and services”.
The Estonian foreign minister, Urmas Reinsalu, said in a Facebook post that India “is a great friend to Estonia with whom we also cooperate in the UN Security Council that India will be a part of from the next year”, meaning from 2021.
According to him, the opening of the Indian embassy in Tallinn is the result of the hard work by the Estonian diplomats, the Indian vice president’s visit to Estonia and the decision taken by the Tallinn city government to erect a monument to Mahatma Gandhi.
Estonia opened its embassy in the Indian capital, New Delhi, in 2013. The Indian embassy that’s so far has been representing the country in Estonia is in Helsinki, Finland.
Cover: Taj Mahal, an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the southern bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. The image is illustrative. Photo by Sylwia Bartyzel.
