Cork, 9 June 2022 (TDI): The Ambassador of Estonia to Ireland, Aino Lepik von Wiren, and Undersecretary for Legal and Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Erki Kodar officially opened an Honorary Consul office in Cork, Ireland.
A historic day in #Cork 🇨🇮 with 🇪🇪 Honorary Consul Neil Kenefick, Undersecretary of Legal and Consular Affairs @ErkiKodar and Deputy Lord Mayor @CllrDesCahil at the official opening of the 🇪🇪 Honorary Consulate. @MFAestonia @corkcitycouncil @CorkChamber pic.twitter.com/hMJ88Ni8Yz
— Aino Lepik von Wiren (@AinoLepik) June 8, 2022
Opening of the Estonian Honorary Consulate
At the official opening of Estonia’s Honorary Consulate was Estonian Honorary Consul Neil Kenefick, Deputy Lord Mayor, Des Cahill, and businessman, Imre Sooäär.
Also, representatives of the network of Cork’s honorary consuls, Irish companies, and the Estonian community, were present.
Ambassador von Wirén stated that the opening of an honorary consul’s office in Ireland’s second-largest city is an important and welcome step in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and for the 3000 Estonians living in Ireland.
In addition, the Undersecretary said they are expanding the reach of their network of Honorary Consuls.
He highlighted that the inauguration of the new honorary consul into Estonia’s ranks in Cork will help in providing better services to Estonian citizens. As well as facilitating new business contacts between Ireland and Estonia.
Great visit to Ireland 🇮🇪 to inaugurate a new honorary consul into our ranks in Cork. Very nice and cozy opening ceremony.
This will help to provide better services to Estonian 🇪🇪 citizens and facilitate new business contacts between our countries. https://t.co/Z6S60nBnFT
— Erki Kodar (@ErkiKodar) June 9, 2022
“By adding an honorary consul in Cork, we are expanding the reach of our network of honorary consuls, which helps us to improve the provision of consular services to our citizens abroad and work towards practical cooperation between the entrepreneurs of Estonia and Ireland,” said Kodar.
Moreover, by considering the size of the Estonian community in Ireland, he said the Honorary Consul will help them offer more efficient help to their citizens.
Estonia-Ireland diplomatic relations
The Republic of Estonia was recognized by Ireland on 27 August 1991. Correspondingly, diplomatic relations between both countries were established on 10 September 1991.
Signed agreements between Estonia and Ireland include an Agreement on the exchange of cultural experts signed 16 Apr 1999.
Also, the Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and for the Prevention of Tax Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital came into force on 29 December 1998.
Additionally, Agreement on Visa-Free Travel came into force on 1 May 1996.
Trade between the two countries has grown in the past years, mainly on account of rising imports.
Therefore, in 2019, the data of Statistics Estonia highlighted that Ireland ranked as Estonia’s 36th trading partner.
Notably, Estonian exports to Ireland made up 20 million euros and imports from Ireland made up 52 million euros.
Despite the decline in Estonian export to Ireland from 2015 to 2018, it started growing again in 2019. Wood and wooden products, machinery, and equipment are the largest export items to Ireland.
According to data from the Bank of Estonia, Irish companies had made investments totaling 182 million euros in Estonia.
As of September 2019, there were 133 businesses with Irish capital registered in Estonia, according to the Estonian Commercial Register. For instance, part of the largest Irish investments is in enterprises.
As of 31 December 2019, Estonian companies had invested around 1.5 million euros in Ireland. Chiefly, in the wholesale and retail trade, ICT, real estate, and professional, scientific, and technical activities.
