Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna’s visit: Advancing innovation and creative cooperation between Vietnam and Estonia
WVR - From April 22-24, Hanoi welcomed Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, a guest from the Baltic region, at the invitation of Politburo Member and Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung.
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| On April 22, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung received Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna on the occasion of his official visit to Vietnam. (Source: VNA) |
A New chapter of trust
Amidst rapid geopolitical, economic, and technological changes globally, the visit of Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna to Vietnam not only helps maintain high-level exchanges but also strengthens political trust, creating new momentum for the Vietnam-Estonia relationship to develop more substantively and effectively.
This is Minister Margus Tsahkna's first visit to a Southeast Asian country in 2026. He is also the first European Union (EU) Foreign Minister to officially visit Vietnam after Vietnam completed its high-level leadership and government apparatus. This indicates Estonia's appreciation of Vietnam's role and position in the region and its desire to enhance contact and cooperation with Vietnam's new leadership.
During the meeting on April 22, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung welcomed Minister Margus Tsahkna and the Estonian business delegation to Vietnam. He also congratulated Estonia on its recent development achievements, especially its emergence as an IT hub in Central and Eastern Europe and as a leading nation in e-government development globally.
Affirming that Vietnam always values strengthening and developing relations with traditional friends based on the excellent relationship between the two countries and the significant potential for cooperation, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung suggested that both sides enhance contact and exchanges at all levels, especially high-level ones, to strengthen political trust; create substantive changes in economic-trade cooperation, investment, and strive to increase bilateral trade turnover in the coming time.
Fully agreeing with Prime Minister Le Minh Hung's major orientations, Minister Margus Tsahkna expressed that Estonia highly values its relationship with Vietnam, considering Vietnam one of its most important partners in Southeast Asia, and desires to strengthen close cooperation, making the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation increasingly substantive and effective.
In holding talks with Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna on April 23, Politburo Member and Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung also affirmed that Vietnam always values and wishes to strengthen the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Estonia - an important partner of Vietnam in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Therefore, Minister Le Hoai Trung suggested that both sides continue to promote exchanges at all levels, especially high-level ones, across all channels including Party, State, National Assembly, and people-to-people exchanges to enhance understanding, consolidate political trust, and create new momentum for bilateral relations.
On this basis, the two Ministers agreed that Vietnam and Estonia still have much room and potential for cooperation, especially in the fields of economic-trade, science-technology, defense-security, education-training, and maritime economy.
In the field of economic-trade, both sides agreed to promote connectivity between the business communities of the two countries, encourage businesses to explore markets, exchange information, and seek investment opportunities in areas of strength. The two Ministers also emphasized the need to facilitate trade promotion activities, partner connections, and expand cooperation in sectors aligned with new development trends. Minister Le Hoai Trung suggested that Estonia actively support and promote the remaining EU member states to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
This visit by Minister Margus Tsahkna is also a concrete step in implementing the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries signed in 2025, in which both sides agreed to enhance exchanges at all levels, especially high-level and working levels, thereby maintaining regular political dialogue and expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
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| Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung receives Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
A Lever for Strategic Breakthroughs
It can be said that Vietnam's reception of a dear friend from the Baltic nation has continued to consolidate and contribute to the implementation of the foreign policy at the 14th Party Congress, the Politburo's Resolutions No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024, on breakthroughs in science-technology development, innovation, and national digital transformation; Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW dated January 24, 2025, on international integration in the new situation.
In recent times, bilateral relations have made many positive strides, especially when the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Strategic Partnership in digital transformation and digital economy through the visit to Estonia by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in June 2025 - the first high-level visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Estonia since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. On this basis, both sides have begun to identify complementary and long-term potential areas of cooperation, particularly in digital transformation, technology, and innovation.
Dubbed as the "giant on the digital stage", Estonia is one of the world's leading countries in e-government, digital society, and smart governance. The Nordic country possesses invaluable experiences in e-government with 100% of public services conducted online, saving 2% of GDP annually. In the field of cybersecurity, Estonia also has commendable experience in building secure and safe digital infrastructure right from the system design phase.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is accelerating national digital transformation, developing the digital economy, and building an innovation ecosystem. Therefore, the meeting between Vietnam's development needs and Estonia's strengths creates notable cooperation prospects, not only economically but also in sharing governance experiences and enhancing national competitiveness. The presence of 12 major technology companies accompanying Minister Margus Tsahkna this time also demonstrates the determination to promote substantive cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of economy, investment, and technology.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung suggested that Estonia enhance experience sharing, technology transfer, and support Vietnam in priority areas, focusing on developing e-government, comprehensive digital transformation, building and operating data centers, ensuring cybersecurity; at the same time, promote cooperation in robotics technology, smart manufacturing, industrial automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, contributing to increasing labor productivity and competitiveness of Vietnam's economy.
In response, Minister Margus Tsahkna emphasized that Estonia is ready to support Vietnam in training and developing high-quality human resources, especially in information technology, digital economy, and AI; thereby opening up opportunities for deeper access to technologies where the Nordic country has strengths and Vietnam has needs. This cooperation not only stops at technology transfer and cooperation but also inspires Vietnam to "catch up, move forward, and rise" in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Continuously expanding cooperation
On a broader scale, the visit shows that Estonia is increasingly interested in the Southeast Asian region, alongside traditional partners in Europe and the United States. At the same time, the visit can contribute to expanding the space for cooperation between Vietnam and the Baltic region, affirming Vietnam's balanced stance in relations with European partners, leveraging Estonia's role and position to promote relations with the EU.
Especially, in efforts to expand cooperation with Asia, the Nordic country has repeatedly affirmed that Vietnam is a priority partner in Southeast Asia, wishing to further promote cooperative relations with the S-shaped country. During the visit and work in Estonia by Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang in May 2025, State Secretary Martin Roger highly appreciated Vietnam's increasingly significant role and position in the Asia-Pacific region; at the same time, expressed the desire to expand relations with Southeast Asian countries and increase presence in the ASEAN region, considering it a dynamic area with rich development potential and strategic importance in regional and global structures. On this basis, Estonia affirms its readiness to closely coordinate with Vietnam - a reputable partner in ASEAN - to expand cooperation with this region.
Therefore, during the talks with Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung on April 23, the two Ministers exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Both sides affirmed their commitment to supporting multilateralism, upholding international law in addressing traditional and non-traditional challenges; and agreed to continue close coordination at multilateral forums, including the United Nations, ASEAN - EU… to contribute to peace, stability, and sustainable development in each region and globally.
In fact, in recent times, the two countries have continuously coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums within the framework of the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), ASEAN–EU, and other multilateral forums where both countries are members... on global issues such as sustainable development, cybersecurity, education, and digital transformation. This close coordination is further affirmed during the time both were non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term.
In summary, after more than 30 years, the two countries increasingly recognize each other's value and potential for cooperation. If previously bilateral relations were mainly maintained at a stable level, now new, more substantive, and deeper cooperation contents have begun to form. This is an important basis to believe that in the coming time, with the determination of both sides, the Vietnam-Estonia relationship will continue to develop positively, not only bilaterally but also contributing to expanding connections between Vietnam and the Baltic region and the European Union. The official visit of Minister Margus Tsahkna further affirms the spirit of "action speaks louder than words" and the special political trust between the two nations.
On the foundation of trust nurtured over more than three decades, the synergy between Vietnam's aspiration to rise and the pioneering experience of Estonia, the "digital giant", is opening a promising new chapter for the partnership in innovation and creativity between the two countries.
| "Over the past three decades, the two countries have continuously strengthened political-diplomatic relations, enhanced coordination at multilateral forums, and gradually expanded cooperation into new potential fields... There is still significant room for bilateral trade development. Although the current trade volume remains modest, the economic structures of the two countries are relatively complementary. Vietnam has strengths in consumer goods, agricultural products, processed foods, and certain manufacturing sectors, while Estonia has advantages in technology, electrical equipment, logistics, digitization, and high-knowledge solutions. If we effectively leverage the EVFTA, while further enhancing business connections, market information exchange, and trade promotion, bilateral trade volume can certainly grow more positively in the future". Vietnamese Ambassador to Finland concurrently accredited to Estonia Pham Thi Thanh Binh |
