Finland and Estonia to celebrate centenary of diplomatic relations

The centenary of diplomatic relations between Estonia and Finland will be celebrated on Monday 8 June 2020, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

Due to the restrictions caused by coronavirus, the centenary of the diplomatic relations will be held in a small-scale setting and separately in the two countries. 

Finland was the first country to recognise Estonia after the Treaty of Tartu had been signed between Estonia and the Soviet Russia. On 7 June 1920, Foreign Minister Rudolf Holsti signed the de jure recognition and gave it to Estonian representative in Finland Oskar Kallas. The document entered into force on the following day.

On 8 June 2020, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Estonia’s  Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu will sign an exquisite copy of the de jure recognition document at the same time in Helsinki and Tallinn.

The event is the first in a series of events marking the centenary of Estonia’s diplomatic relations, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said.