Estonian Embassy in Turkey :: News and events

November 19-20, Ambassador of Estonia in Turkey Ms Marin Mõttus and Counsellor Mr Indrek Erikson paid a visit to Bursa. Visit was organized with a kind help and support of Estonian Honorary Consul Mr Barış Kaya. The Ambassador met with the Governor of Bursa, Mr Yakup Canbolat, the Rector of the Uludağ University, Professor Yusuf Ulcay, visited the Municipality, Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, one of the biggest textile factories Polyteks and Bursa’s biggest automotive company Beyçelik. An exhibition about the history of relations between Turkey and Estonia was inaugurated in the exhibition center of the Uludağ University, exhibition will be open until November 23.

Aston Synthetics OÜ, founded by the Turkish company Akinal, was rewarded as the best foreign investor in Estonia at the annual Entrepreneurship Award competition.

The Turkish enterprise Akinal has invested 14 million euros in a plant close to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The plant will produce different nonwoven textiles for childcare and medical care with the capacity of 14,000 tons per year.

Akinal is among top 20 nonwoven textiles producers of the world and its export sales are distributed in 42 different countries worldwide. The company’s investments have until now been concentrated in Gaziantep, Turkey; the factory in Estonia is the first major investment abroad.

The competition, organized by Enterprise Estonia and Estonian Employers’ Confederation, is held in five categories: design applier, exporter, family enterprise, innovator and foreign investor of the year. The winners are selected by experts in the field who evaluate the companies’ economic indicators as well as their contribution to the society. The Entrepreneurship Award competition is the highest recognition given by the Republic of Estonia to acknowledge progressive companies for efficiency and outstanding business culture.

One day. One planet. One goal. Millions of people in 150 countries uniting to clean up our world, in the biggest civic action in human history.

On 15 September, volunteers and partners worldwide will come together to rid our planet of trash – cleaning up litter and mismanaged waste from our beaches, rivers, forests, and streets.

A powerful ‘green wave’ of cleanups will start in New Zealand and end 36 hours later in Hawaii, with millions of people working towards one goal: a clean and healthy planet.

World Cleanup Day harnesses the power of everyday people to achieve incredible things by joining together. Its beauty lies in cooperation and collaboration: building bridges between disparate communities, and including all levels of society - from citizens, to business, to government.

A world changing idea with a humble beginning.The movement was born 10 years ago in Estonia, when 4% of the population came out to clean the entire country of illegally dumped waste, in a matter of hours. This captured the imaginations of people worldwide, who were inspired to follow suit with the same ambitious ‘one country, one day’ formula.

This was the beginning of a global bottom-up civic movement, Let's Do It! World, which has spread like wildfire around the globe. The movement has grown to be the biggest of its kind in the world - uniting people from all corners of the planet to work together in cleaning the world of trash.

But, the Let’s Do It! movement has never been purely about cleaning up trash. It also works to raise global awareness and implement lasting changes to end the global waste epidemic, once and for all.

As Estonia celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, World Cleanup Day 2018 is the country’s gift to the world.

More info: https://www.worldcleanupday.org/about/

On 15 May, Estonian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran Marin Mõttus presented her credentials to President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran. Ambassador Mõttus resides in Ankara.

After the ceremony, Ambassador Mõttus and President Rouhani affirmed good relations between Estonia and Iran. President Rouhani pointed out that Iran was one of the first countries to recognise Estonia’s independence. Ambassador Mõttus said she is delighted at the opportunity to be the first Estonian ambassador to Iran.

Ambassador Mõttus noted that in terms of cooperation, the fields of IT and e-services are the most promising. “First contacts between Estonian and Iranian companies have been established and information on Estonia’s e-services and e-Residency has reached Iran,” Mõttus noted. There are 217 Estonian e-residents among Iranian citizens. Both the President and the Ambassador agreed that there are unused economic opportunities.

They also discussed opportunities to develop tourism between the two countries. Ambassador Mõttus says that both countries are interested in developing this sector. “Introducing Persian cultural heritage to Estonians could offer a number of interesting opportunities for tourism companies,” she added. Positive developments in the fields of education and science were also mentioned.

Ambassador Mõttus and President Rouhani also discussed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “The Iran nuclear deal is important for Estonia. As an EU Member State we are ready to take steps that are realistic and allow the nuclear deal to be preserved,” Mõttus said. Ambassador Mõttus expressed hope that Iran will continue to implement its nuclear related commitments.

Ambassador Mõttus also introduced Estonian campaign to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2020-2021 to President Rouhani.

Marin Mõttus graduated from the University of Tartu’s Faculty of Estonian language and literature and in 2000 she earned her Master’s degree in international relations from the Diplomatic School of Spain in Madrid and Complutense University. Mõttus has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1997. Since October 2010, Mõttus was Estonia’s Ambassador to Portugal and just before assuming her current position, she worked as Director of the Bureau of Asia, Africa, Australia and Latin America in the Foreign Ministry’s Political Department. Since June 2016, Mõttus is the Estonian Ambassador to Turkey, Lebanon and Azerbaijan.

On May 12, 2018 on the occasion of the Centenary of the Proclamation of the Independence of the Baltic States the Embassy of Estonia, the Embassy of Latvia and the Embassy of Lithuania in cooperation with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra organized a festive concert at Bilkent University Concert Hall in Ankara. Estonian conductor Anu Tali will oversee the concert under the name „Baltic 100“ with solo performances by Latvian pianist Lauma Skride, Lithuanian accordeon player Martynas Levickis and pianist Gabrielius Alekna.

The program of the concert included pieces of Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns, Richard Strauss, Václav Trojan, Estonian composer Eduar Tubin and Latvian composer Volfgangs Dārziņš, as well as the Turkish composer Ferit Tüzün.

Ms Anu Tali is a co-founder of the Nordic Symphony Orchestra, an international orchestra beloved and popular mostly in Northern Europe. During recent years, Anu Tali has worked with several orchestras in the US and is the musical director of Sarasota Orchestra since 2013.

Ms Lauma Skride was awarded the Beethoven Ring in 2008 and is highly acclaimed for her interpretations of Germanic classical and romantic repertoire. Lauma Skride has worked with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Hungarian National Philharmonic, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Hamburger Symphoniker, Dresdner Philharmonie, Essener Philharmoniker, Bremer Philharmoniker, Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg, Tapiola Sinfonietta among others.

Mr Martynas Levickis is a leading exponent of the accordion. He is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of his distinguished contribution to music in his field. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Lithuanian World Arts Council. Praised by The Times for his “mastery of an instrument once dismissed as a squeezebox”, accordionist Martynas Levickis has captivated audiences and critics alike with his musicality, charisma and dynamic performances.

Mr Gabrielius Alekna has garnered more then a dozen top prizes in competitions on both sides sides of the Atlantic, such as Hilton Head (United states), maria Canals (Spain) and Čiurlionis (Lithuania) Internationa Piano Competitions. He is one of the most prominent Lithuanian pianists who also has a special interest in education and development of yound talents.

Foreign Minister Sven Mikser met Turkey’s Minster for European Union Affairs Ömer Çelik. Mikser reaffirmed good Estonia-Turkey relations and Estonia’s desire to contribute to continuing dialogue between the EU and Turkey.

The ministers discussed currently salient topics: the migration crisis, the Turkish candidature for EU membership, and the situation with human rights and freedom of speech in Turkey. Mikser said the deterioration in the field of human rights and freedom of the media and speech in Turkey is raising many questions and that Turkey as a candidate state is expected to take rapid positive steps in this regard. “It is in the interests of both Estonia and the EU to maintain and develop dialogue with Turkey,” said Mikser.

Estonia continues to be among the Member States in support of EU enlargement but it should be considered that there is currently a lack of consensus in the EU regarding continuing accession talks with Turkey.

Prime Minister Jüri Ratas met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binal Yıldırım. During the meetings, important issues for the European Union and Turkey were discussed, such as migration and the situation of refugees, security and the fight against terrorism, as well as relations between Estonia and Turkey.

In addition, Prime Minister Ratas visited the International Organization for Migration (UN / IOM) in Gaziantep, near Syria's border, and a refugee camp in the city of Nizipi. Prime Minister also met with Gaziantep's mayor.

Three biggest Estonian public universities: Tallinn University, Tallinn University of Technology and University of Tartu welcome students who are looking for study opportunities abroad. At the Info Session you will hear about Bachelor's and Master's programmes taught in English, the admission process and scholarships for international students.
After the info session, Tallinn University will also offer an opportunity to take the English language tests required for admission. If the applicant gets the required points and passes the exam, it will give him/her the access to apply for Tallinn University, Tallinn University of Technology and University of Tartu without presenting TOEFL/IELTS or other English language test. Please see more information about the test on the following site: http://www.tlu.ee/en/admissions/Meet-Us/Tallinn-University-in-Turkey/Tallinn-Universitys-English-language-exam-in-Turkey

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The Estonian cellist Andreas Lend and the Turkish pianist Hande Dalkılıç gave a joint concert on 21 March 2017 at the Çankaya Municipality Contemporary Art Center in Ankara. The program included “Op. 102 in Do major” by Beethoven as well as the beloved “Sonatas in Mi minor for piano and cello” by Brahms. Also “Three Turkish Folk Songs” by the Turkish composer Özkan Manav, and “Blond Bride” by the Turkish composer Çetin Işıközlü, available on the last album of Maestro Dalkılıç, was played together with the music of the two distinguished Estonian composers Arvo Pärt and Eino Eller.