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President Ilves: co-operation between European Union and rest of the world is one of the keys to our future

16.09.2010

The President of the Republic, Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, today opened the “Eurasia: co-operation, integration and development–transport-logistics component”, which discusses the development of economic relations between east and west.

“Well-working infrastructure is a key to the future,” said President Ilves, adding: “By this, I do not mean only physical infrastructures – such as roads and railways – but mostly economic and legal infrastructures, which would contribute to increasing trade. For Estonia, this would also mean efficient co-operation between the European Union and the rest of the world.”

“This doesn’t mean that technical infrastructure is not important. It is, and very much so. Therefore, I’d like to see, as of today, better connections for us on the north-south route, primarily within the European Union, as well as on east-west route, especially considering the increasing economic importance of the Asian countries,” President Ilves stated.

According to the Estonian Head of State, he would like to see some progress with the Via Baltica highway and also the Rail Baltica railway, which would contribute to better links between our region and Central Europe. “Better connections in an east-west direction would also be extremely welcome, starting with a new bridge across the River Narva on our eastern border. The European Union has granted its support to that project; however, the other counterpart has not shown enough interest to date. A better airline connection between countries is also definitely required,” said President Ilves.

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