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Tallinn and Helsinki are strengthening their cooperation
The Estonian capital Tallinn and the Finnish capital Helsinki want to strengthen their cooperation in a number of important fields, it was announced on the city of Helsinki’s webpage.
The two capitals signed an agreement on cooperation back in May 2018. Last week, mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen and mayor of Tallinn Mihhail Kõlvart signed an updated version of the agreement which sets the basis for future initiatives and projects.
Helsinki and Tallinn are dedicated to improving the region’s competitiveness through collaboration in business and innovation, as well as education, culture, and tourism. The meeting of the two mayors, which was held at Helsinki City Hall, also focused on the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen stated: ‘’With the changed security situation in the Baltic Sea, it is even more important that the capitals of the region work closely together.’’
‘’Helsinki and Tallinn already have a strong dual city connection, and although the coronavirus pandemic momentarily reduced tourism and employment across the Gulf of Finland, our economies and labor markets are still strongly interconnected. We will continue to strengthen these connections with concrete measures,’’ he continued.
Furthermore, the new version of the cooperation agreement suggests that a greater emphasis should be placed on combating climate change and promoting sustainable development. Encouraging sustainable methods of movement of people and goods is also seen as important.
The meeting was also attended by the Estonian Ambassador to Finland Sven Sakkov and the Ambassador of Finland to Estonia Timo Kantola. (photo credit: Helsinki official website)
