Estonian foreign minister visits Vietnam to boost tech, trade ties

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HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on Wednesday and said his country aims to deepen cooperation with Vietnam in trade, technology and digital transformation.

Relations between Vietnam and Estonia have accelerated in recent years and the two countries signed agreements on digital cooperation in 2025.

Estonia’s GDP accounts for just 0.2% of the European Union’s total, but it punches above its weight in digital expertise and e-governance innovation. It is offering that expertise to Vietnam as the Southeast Asian export powerhouse pursues reforms aimed at making it a high-income economy by 2045.

Cooperation on digitalization of services could help Vietnam reduce bureaucracy, improve transparency and lower costs, Tashkna said.

“It is much more quicker for citizens to be part of public sector services,” he told The Associated Press in Hanoi, adding that Vietnam had proposed an education cooperation agreement.

Hung, the prime minister, asked Estonia to urge the European Union to ratify an Investment Protection Agreement and support efforts to lift the European Commission’s “yellow card” that restricts imports of Vietnamese seafood exports for illegal fishing, said state media.

Tsahkna said Estonia could serve as a gateway for Vietnamese businesses to Europe, while Vietnam offers Estonia a larger market and a foothold in Southeast Asia.

“For us, Vietnam is one of the priority countries in the region,” he said.

He said the meetings in Vietnam were also an opportunity to convey Europe’s view of why it sees Russia as an “existential threat.”

Hanoi and Moscow have had diplomatic relations since 1950 and Vietnam has maintained a neutral stance regarding the war in Ukraine, advocating peace but avoiding direct criticism of Russia.

Tashkna said Estonia's outreach to Vietnam and Southeast Asia is driven by geopolitical pressures and economic opportunity, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of European defense spending and tariff tensions compel Europe to look outward.

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