TALLINN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas on Friday said that his country expects to work together with Germany even more in the area of cybersecurity.
At a meeting with visiting German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer at his office, Ratas said that "Thinking of the future, we have very many similar interests regarding cybersecurity, and this is an area where we could work together even more."
Ratas and Kramp-Karrenbauer discussed "the strong historical bonds as well as very close cooperation in the modern day" between the two countries as dedicated allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as well as the European Union, said the Estonian government statement.
"As partners, we both want our future Europe to be a safe and good place to live in," Ratas was quoted as saying.
Bilateral economic cooperation was also on the agenda. According to the statement, the greatest growth potential lies in the cooperation of innovative startup companies.
"We are certainly interested in Germany's experience with high technology and innovative research and development activities," said the Estonian prime minister.
Ratas and Kramp-Karrenbauer also discussed Estonia's role as non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 2020-2021, climate issues, as well as Germany's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2020.
Germany is a founding member of the Tallinn-based NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence, leads a battle group of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania, and participates in NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission.
On Thursday, Kramp-Karrenbauer paid a visit to Lithuania to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional security, and visited German troops deployed in central Lithuania.
