Estonia and Egypt

11.05.2009

In 1927, the Estonian Consul General in Athens (and later in Istanbul) was assigned to protect Estonia’s consular interests in Egypt. In 1933, Foreign Minister August Rei appointed the Dane Anton Nyegaard Estonian Honorary Consul in Cairo (covering all of Egypt).

The Consulate in Cairo contributed to the development of Estonian-Egyptian trade relations and personal contacts. Trade between Estonia and Egypt grew by 300 to 400% in a couple of years. The Honorary Consul rendered assistance also to Estonian seamen and tourists visiting Egypt.

Egypt re-recognised the Republic of Estonia on 6 September 1991. Diplomatic relations were established on 2 January 1992.

Egyptian Ambassador to Estonia Mr Maasoum Marzouk presented his credentials in November 2007. The Ambassador resides in Helsinki.

The first Estoanian Ambassador to Egypt Mrs Tiia Milller presented her credentials to President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak on 14 May 2007. The Ambassador resides in Tallinn.

Mrs Kadri Jõgi, residing in Cairo, is leading The Estonian Mission to Egypt. The Estonian representation works in the building of the Swedish Embassy, the tasks of the diplomat include the strengthening of bilateral relations and the preparation for opening a full-fledged embassy.

The relations between the countries are good, but to improve the knowledge of each other and to expand economic contacts the countries would like to enliven bilateral relations.

Historic Overview

At the beginning of the 1920s, dozens of Estonians lived in Egypt, having found themselves in Egypt following the defeat of the armies of Denikin and Wrangel in South Russia. The majority of the Estonians soon left Egypt, while some stayed in Egypt. Several female Estonian missionaries, who were part of the Egyptian General Mission established in 1898, found work and began a new life in Egypt.

At the beginning of 1925, Jaan Lattik, a clergyman and educator, and Ernst Ederberg, an architect visited Egypt. At the same period, Lattik published his travel memoirs "To the South", at first in the newspaper "Päevaleht" and thereafter as a separate book.

Visits

January 2005 - Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland’s visit to Egypt. The Foreign Minister visited Cairo and Alexandria. In Cairo the meetings with Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Minister of International Co-operation Faysa Aboul-Naga and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the People’s Assembly Mustafa Alfeq took place. In Alexandria the minister paid a visit to the Library of Alexandria, met with the Director of the recently created Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for a Dialogue of Cultures and with the Governor of Alexandria.

November 2005 – Estonian Prime Minister Ansip in Barcelona at the Euromed Summit met with Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef.

December 2007 – Prime Minister Andrus Ansip met with Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif in the framework of the EU- African Union Summit in Lisbon.

February 2008 – Ambassador Tiia Miller’s visit to Egypt, where the reception dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia took place. The Ambassador met with Religious Affairs Minister Dr Mahmoud Zaqzouq, Deputy Foreign Minister for European issues, Ambassador Fatma Zahraa and with Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana.

Agreements

• Agreement on Co-operation in the Field of Economy, Technology and Research (entered into force 09.02.99);

• Agreement on Co-operation in the Field of Culture (signed 12.05.04).

• The Estonian and Egyptian Foreign Ministers signed a co-operation protocol between the foreign ministries establishing among other things regular political consultations between the two countries (entered into force 24.01.2005)

The volume of trade between Estonia and Egypt has been relatively small. However, Egypt can be considered a relatively important niche market for the producers of Estonian wood and paper. Tourism offers feasible and interesting prospects for the development of economic ties between Estonia and Egypt. In 2007 more than 50 000 Estonian tourists visited Egypt.

TRADE

Estonian-Egypt trade from 2004-2007 (special trade, in millions EUR):

The Egyptian investments in Estonia have been made in haulage, storage, communication and in real estate, renting and business services (ensuing from the principles of data protection, numbers are not subject to be published).

Estonia has no significant investments in Egypt.

On 12 May 2004, the Memorandum of Cultural Co-operation between the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt was signed in Tallinn.

Four Egyptian films were shown at the Black Nights Film Festival in 2004. The festival was also visited by the noted cameraman Ramses Mazrouk Tadros (also a jury member), film actor Khaled Mohamed Sami Abol Naga and critic Awatef Sadek Mikhail.
Estonian puppet film „The Table” (Art Directors: Jelena Girlin, Mari-Liis Bassovskaja) won the prize of the best animation film at the 9th Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentary and Short Films in Egypt on 10-17.09.2005.
The puppet film „Miriam Plays Hide-and Seek” (Director Priit Tender) participated at the 15th Cairo International Film Festival for Children on 3 - 10.03.2005 in Egypt.