On September 17-18, Ambassador Tigran Mkrtchyan, while on a visit to Estonia, had several meetings with the representatives of the Administration of the Estonian President, as well as executive and legislative bodies of the country.

The first meeting was held with Estonian President's Foreign Policy Adviser Lauri Kuusing, during which the details of forthcoming  high-level meetings, including the visit of the Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid to Armenia were discussed. Upon the request of the President's Adviser, Ambassador Mkrtchyan briefed on the course of preparations for the XVII Summit of La Francophonie to be held in October in Yerevan, adding that the Republic of Armenia attaches great importance to organising at a high level this major international event since the independence.

At the Estonian Foreign Ministry, the Ambassador met with Rainer Saks, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting he presented to his interlocutor the details of the envisaged cultural event in Tallinn, dedicated to the 27th anniversary of Armenia's independence and the 100th anniversary of the two countries. He also talked about internal political developments in Armenia and regional security issues.

Ambassador Mkrtchyan touched upon the idea of holding an Armenia-Estonia digital forum, noting that discussions over this topic are already underway in relevant agencies of the two countries. He added that the invigoration of bilateral ties in the IT sector can become a driving force for raising Armenian-Estonian economic cooperation to a new level.

Touching upon the Armenian-Estonian cultural relations, the Secretary General of the Estonian Foreign Ministry talked about the Estonian translation of Grigor Narekatsi's Book of Lamentations, noting that this is a very important step in terms of cultural exchanges between the two peoples.

In the Foreign Ministry of Estonia, Ambassador Mkrtchyan also met with Priit Turk, the newly appointed Director of Political Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, who is the former Ambassador of Estonia to Armenia. Congratulating Priit Turk on his appointment, the Ambassador expressed hope, that the positive atmosphere of constructive cooperation that exists between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries will be maintained. Upon the request of Mr. Turk, the Ambassador Mkrtchyan presented the policy of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government in Armenia, as well as the details of internal political developments.

In his turn, Ambassador Turk noted that Estonia is ready to render its assistance in different spheres of bilateral dimension and throughout the implementation of the Armenia-EU CEPA.

Ambassador Mkrtchyan also noted that the organisation and holding of an IT Forum with participation of public officials and representatives of private companies of the IT sector of both countries will be an invaluable contribution to the development of bilateral economic relations. Mr. Turk welcomed Ambassador's idea and promised to do his best to help implementing the idea.

In the Estonia Parliament (Riigikogu), Ambassador Mkrtchyan held meeting with the Chairman of the State Defense Committee of the Parliament and the Co-Chair of the Armenia-Estonia Friendship Group Hannes Hanso, and another separate meeting with the member of the Armenia-Estonia Friendship Group Kalle Palling.

Ambassador Mkrtchyan expressed his satisfaction with Hannes Hanso becoming the head of of the friendship group, encouraging him to use more actively the parliamentary diplomacy format in order to intensify the bilateral contacts. Hannes Hanso expressed willingness to contribute to the enhancing and deepening of relations between the two parliaments.

During the meeting with Kallе Palling Ambassador Mkrtchyan presented the recent developments in Armenia's domestic and foreign policy.

Throughout all the meetings Ambassador Mkrtchyan also drew the attention of his interlocutors to Azerbaijan's recent provocative actions along the state border with Armenia, noting that Azerbaijan continues to adhere to destructive policy and is deliberately targeting the civilian population and infrastructure. The Ambassador also added that the maximalist policy of the official Baku, the bellicose rhetoric of the country's highest leadership and the desire to see Artsakh without its Armenian population are the main obstacles that do not allow reaching the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.