Helsinki, Tallinn update co-op deal, discuss Ukraine

The Mayor of Helsinki, Juhana Vartiainen, and the Mayor of Tallinn, Mihhail Kõlvart updated the agreement of cooperation, which was signed between the cities on 29 May 2018.

The mayors signed the updated agreement at the Helsinki City Hall on Friday, said the City of Helsinki in a press release.

With the updated cooperation agreement, Helsinki and Tallinn commit to developing the competitiveness of the twin-city region through cooperation in business and innovation, education, culture and tourism.

In addition to improving the state of the Baltic Sea, more efforts will be made to tackle climate change and sustainable development issues. Promoting sustainable mobility of people and goods remains a major target.

The Mayors of Helsinki and Tallinn have met regularly a few times every year.

In spring 2020, Mayor Kõlvart and the then Mayor of Helsinki, Jan Vapaavuori, met in Tallinn, after which meetings took place online due to the coronavirus situation.

The meeting in Helsinki was also attended by the Estonian Ambassador to Finland, Sven Sakkov, the Finnish Ambassador to Estonia, Timo Kantola, and the Finnish rapporteur of the Visionary report on Estonia-Finland future cooperation, Member of Parliament, Anne-Mari Virolainen.

Besides the updates to the cooperation agreement, the meeting discussed the cities’ preparedness with respect to the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine was also discussed on Thursday in the online meeting of the mayors of the Nordic and Baltic capitals, the Nordic-Baltic Mayors’ Meeting.

“With the changed security situation in the Baltic Sea, it is increasingly important for the region’s capitals to work closely together. Helsinki and Tallinn already have a strong twin-city link, and although the coronavirus pandemic temporarily reduced tourism and employment across the Gulf of Finland, our economies and labour markets remain strongly interlinked. We will continue to take concrete steps to further strengthen these links,” said Vartiainen.