Estonian President and First Lady visited the UK on 15-17 October 2008

20.10.2008

   Photo: Matt Rowan, PA Photos

On 15 October in Cardiff the Estonian Head of State opened the Estonian-Wales business seminar in Cardiff, met the First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan and Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly at the Senedd. The President also addressed Assembly Members in the Siambr just before the start of the Wednesday session.

READ THE SPEECH

The First Minister said of his meeting with President Ilves: Wales and Estonia have much to share because we have so much in common. We may not be the biggest countries in the World but we enjoy celebrating our distinctive national cultures. So we can understand each other in a way that other bigger countries would struggle to do. The President and I discussed the way in which the credit crunch will impact on our economies. This is a global crisis and we can learn from each other and pick up on best practice which works in one country and apply it in another country. That is the true value of these get-togethers.

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT IN THE WESTERN MAIL
 

The President and Mrs Ilves also visited the St Donats Arts Centre and the Atlantic College to celebrate the WALESTONIA Festival organised by the Estonian Embassy. The Principal of Atlantic College, Neil Richards offered a full two-year scholarship for an Estonian student to attend the college for the 2009-2011 academic term. St Donats Arts Centre is based on the college campus which is one of twelve United World Colleges worldwide and the only one in the UK. It admits 170 students a year aged 16 to 19 from more than 75 countries, with the aim of fostering respect for diverse cultural, social and religious backgrounds.

The President opened a joint exhibition at the arts centre by two of Estonia’s leading artists – father and son Vilen Künnapu and August Künnapu, called a ‘Common Energy Field’. In the evening he participated in the WALESTONIA and Swansea festival concert, in which the Estonian National Male Choir joined the BBC National Orchestra for Wales in the Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex performance at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea. A radio broadcast of the concert was sent live by BBC 3.

On 16 October, President Ilves delivered a speech at the London School of Economics: European Security Architecture - A Paradigm Shift? and gave a television interview to Jon Snow for Channel 4 News.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW ONLINE

READ THE SPEECH AT LSE

SEE THE WEBCAST OF HIS LSE SPEECH
 

On 17 October, the last day of the visit, President Ilves and Evelin Ilves met Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace. At the meeting, the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Estonia in October of 2006 was talked about and also the long-term close economic and cultural ties and defence cooperation between the United Kingdom and Estonia were stressed. "Estonia has excellent allied and partnership relations with Great Britain in the European Union and NATO," President Ilves said. "Together with British forces, we are participating in the global peace process in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the United Kingdom has made an invaluable contribution to the development of our Defence Forces."

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Before the departure back to Estonia President Toomas Hendrik Ilves visited the Headley Court Rehabilitation Center and met two Estonian soldiers who were wounded in Afghanistan and are being treated at the Center. "I thank you and your fellow soldiers for defending Estonia and our allies, for defending the security of all countries that care about a more peaceful world,” the Head of State said.

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Mrs Evelin Ilves had meetings with the Representative for London 2012 and at the Department for Health to discuss public health issues.

PHOTOS OF THE VISIT – EMBASSY GALLERY ON FLICKR