American Estonians are against the closure of the Estonian Consulate General in New York

2023-10-05 10:00:52

NY. Photo: Canva

An open appeal to the leadership of the Estonian state asking them to reconsider the decision to close the Estonian Consulate General in New York and find a way to continue its work was sent by 15 key organizations of American Estonians and over 80 influential individuals.

“The closure will lead to the interruption of long-term strong cultural and business diplomatic contacts between the cultural and financial world. “In addition, in the current dangerous security situation, the closure will lead to a significant weakening of Estonia’s ties with its important ally, the United States, which will significantly damage Estonia’s position in the world,” the appeal says.

As noted in the letter, based on information disseminated in the media, one might get the impression that the function of the Consulate General is only to provide consular services to Estonians in need of emergency assistance, and that these functions could easily be performed through the UN mission, the embassy in Washington or through honorary consuls, but this is by no means just a matter of logistics.

“However, the role of the Consulate General is much broader than just working with documents. If a presence in Washington is important because of the government agencies located there, then when it comes to maintaining economic relations, starting a business and the technology sector, social contacts and cultural connections, it is impossible to ignore New York,” the appeal says.

BNS

Read more in the ERR material.

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