On April 13-15, the President of the Republic of Estonia was on a working visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. First, the President met with King Willem-Alexander. They talked about European security and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as strengthening energy and defense cooperation. On the first day of the visit, the President of the Republic also met with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the President of the Senate and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. It was discussed how important it is to reduce the gray zone that creates a vague security area in Europe, where freedom is vulnerable because of someone’s imperial ambitions.
On the second day of the visit, the President visited the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. In the 1990s, Mr. Karis worked as a research fellow at the Erasmus Medical Center. The President also went to see photographer Claudia Heinermann’s exhibition “Siberian Exiles” at the Photo Museum in Rotterdam. The exhibition tells about the occupation of the Soviet Union in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, repressions and the horrors of deportation.
During the visit, the President of the Republic opened the Estonian collection in the Amsterdam Public Library (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam or OBA), which is the result of cooperation between the Estonian Embassy in the Netherlands, the Estonian National Library and the Estonian House in the Netherlands. In addition, a reception was held for Estonian honorary consuls, companies and Dutch investors.
Photos: Raigo Pajula, Office of the President of the Republic
