76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Foreign Minister Liimets discusses digital development in New York
September 22, New York
Yesterday 21 September, Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets attended the opening of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, followed by bilateral meetings with the ministers of Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Rwanda and Serbia, the united opposition of Syria and the Ambassador of Afghanistan Ghulam M. Isaczai, who is heading Afghanistan’s delegation at the General Assembly in New York. At her meeting with the ambassador of Afghanistan, the foreign minister underlined Estonia’s commitment to its role as a penholder for Afghanistan at the UN Security Council. They also discussed how the international community could support the people of Afghanistan.
The meeting with Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Vincent Biruta included the signing of a cooperation agreement for holding political consultations. “We would like to have closer contacts, with a main focus on digital cooperation,” Foreign Minister Liimets said. “Consultations on regional and international topics contribute to advancing bilateral relations. We will attend the ministerial meeting of the European Union and Africa in Kigali in October, where Estonia will focus on green and digital transformation.”
e-Governance and the development of IT were also the main topic of the meeting between Liimets and Kandia Kamissoko Camara, the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, African Integration and the Diaspora of Côte d’Ivoire. “Estonia has already implemented some digitalisation pilot projects in Côte d’Ivoire and there is interest for more,” Liimets said. She also discussed the prospects of digital cooperation with the Foreign Minister of Algeria Ramtane Lamamra.
At the meeting with the Foreign Minister of Egypt Sameh Shoukry, the ministers noted that the relations between the two countries were very good. Touching on the subject of GERD (Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam), Foreign Minister Liimets stressed the importance of continued negotiations and the role of the African Union. “The human rights strategy adopted by the Egyptian government recently is an important document and I hope it is serious about its implementation,” Minister Liimets said.
European integration and the Belgrade-Priština dialogue were the main topics of her meetings with the Foreign Minister of Kosovo Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz and the Foreign Minister of Serbia Nikola Selaković. At her discussion with the Serbian foreign minister, Liimets noted there was great potential for enhanced economic cooperation between the countries. To join the European Union, both countries need to continue rule of law reforms and align increasingly with the common foreign and security policy of the EU.
The foreign minister also met with the delegation of the united opposition of Syria. They talked about the humanitarian situation in Syria, where the civil war has forced millions of people to leave their homes. Estonia expressed support for the political process based on a UN Security Council resolution and asked about the solutions the Syrian opposition proposed for breaking the impasse.