On Wednesday, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) made his first foreign trip since taking office two weeks ago. He visited Tallinn to meet with his Estonian counterpart, Kaja Kallas.
At a joint press conference, both premiers said that the neighbouring countries' long-standing close ties have become even tighter since Finland joined Nato in April. Estonia joined the alliance in 2014 along with half a dozen other Eastern European countries.
Kallas and Orpo also reiterated the two countries' strong commitment to support Ukraine for as long as necessary.
"Today, the relations between Finland and Estonia are stronger than ever before. Our relations with Estonia are close both at the official and personal level. Estonia and Finland have strong cultural ties. We share similar values, ideas and understanding of the surrounding reality," Orpo said at the press conference, alongside Kallas.
"In future, we will work even more closely together as members of the same military alliance, Nato. We will strengthen security and wellbeing throughout the Baltic Sea region when all the Nordic countries and Baltic states are in the same alliance," he added, alluding to Sweden's application to join Nato, which is still being blocked by Hungary and Turkey.
"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine emphasises the need for stronger military-industrial cooperation," Orpo said. "We must strengthen our defence cooperation, security of supply, logistics and energy self-sufficiency."
Orpo skips question over Pride controversy
During the press conference, Finnish reporters also asked him about domestic political issues. Specifically, an Yle journalist asked him about complaints from his government partners the Christian Democrats over the Council of State's official participation in Saturday's Pride Helsinki march, but Orpo ignored the question. The PM, the National Coalition Party's chair, did not take part in the march, but some cabinet members from the NCP and Swedish People's Party did.
Besides bilateral and EU issues, Orpo and Kallas discussed the security of the Baltic Sea region in their one-on-one talks. During the trip, the Finnish premier also met with Estonian President Alar Karis.
According to tradition, Finnish prime ministers usually visit Stockholm and Tallinn soon after taking office. Due to scheduling reasons, Orpo won't visit Stockholm until the autumn, but he met twice in late June with his Swedish opposite number Ulf Kristersson at regional meetings.
Kristersson will also be in Helsinki next week for a Nordic summit with US President Joe Biden, but Finland will be represented at the summit by President Sauli Niinistö. He said on Sunday that it remains unclear whether Orpo will also meet with the visiting leaders.