India key partner, Estonia will be 'very happy' if PM Modi visits: foreign minister

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has called for more high-level visits from India to deepen bilateral ties and said Estonia would be very happy if Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the northern European country.In an exclusive interview with PTI here, Tsahkna said Estonia is organising the Ukraine recovery conference in 2027 and hoped that India could also be part of the rebuilding process of the war-hit country.India is a very important partner for Estonia.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has called for more high-level visits from India to deepen bilateral ties and said Estonia would be ''very happy'' if Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the northern European country.

In an exclusive interview with PTI here, Tsahkna said Estonia is organising the Ukraine recovery conference in 2027 and hoped that India could also be part of the rebuilding process of the war-hit country.

''India is a very important partner for Estonia. Our scales are totally different, from 1.3 million people (Estonian population) to 1.4 billion (Indian population). India is also the largest democracy in the world. Our president (Alar Karis) was in India in February for the AI summit. Our bilateral relations are increasing in business terms,'' the Estonian foreign minister told PTI.

''Be it the defence industry, IT, or AI solutions, Estonia is the perfect place for investments. We have the E-residency programme through which Indian companies and people can become E-residents and be a part of our brilliant startup environment.

''I see the economic growth of India and also the leadership of the Indian government on economic development, which is something our companies are very much interested in,'' Tsahkna said.

The E-residency programme grants foreign nationals a secure government-issued digital identity. This allows entrepreneurs to establish and manage an EU-based company entirely online, streamlining processes like document signing, banking, and tax filing from anywhere in the world.

The minister said there is significant potential for expanding bilateral ties.

''We see the global trend, India is playing more and more a leading role in the region. Estonia is the gateway for Indian companies to the EU markets. So both sides are interested,'' he said.

Asked whether more high-level visits are needed to strengthen ties and if Prime Minister Modi could visit Estonia in the future, Tsahkna said his country would warmly welcome such a visit.

''Estonia would be very happy if PM Modi comes to the country. We would welcome his excellency warmly, and also the foreign minister (S Jaishankar) is welcome. The more high-level visits to Estonia, the better,'' he said.

There has so far been no prime ministerial visit from India to Estonia.

Tsahkna said Estonia is keen to receive Indian business delegations along with political leaders.

''We expect them to come with business delegations because we can open many gates and many doors to them and guarantee that they would be welcome... I am expecting as many high-level meetings from India as possible,'' he said.

Bilateral trade in goods between the two countries stood at 139.3 million euros in 2025, while trade in services was valued at 66.4 million euros last year.

Indian FDI in Estonia stood at Euro 13.6 million as of December 31, 2025, while Estonian FDI in India totalled USD 4.15 million between April 2000 and March 2025.

On whether India can play a role in bringing peace in the region by mediating in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Tsahkna said Russia has been waging an aggressive war against Ukraine for more than four years and noted that India has leverage to pressure Russia to end the conflict.

''But honestly, the only person who can finish this right now is President Vladimir Putin. For Europe and Estonia, Russia is a direct threat. We don't want any wars in Europe, but unfortunately, we have,'' he said, adding that any pressure on Russia to change its position and goals would be important because Ukraine and the people of Europe want peace.

Tsahkna pointed out that Estonia will host the Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2027, which would bring together world leaders, donors and private companies.

Asserting that the reconstruction of Ukraine will be the biggest project in Europe since the Marshall Plan after World War II, he said, ''I hope India will be part of that.''.

The Marshall Plan was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The US transferred USD 13.3 billion to 17 European countries in economic recovery programmes after the end of World War II in Europe.

On the EU-INDIA free trade agreement, Tsahkna said it is very important, and he is very happy that the political agreement has been made.

''Now let us move forward because the EU is a very trustworthy partner, and India is a very large and developing partner for Europe. I do hope it will move forward very fast and Estonian companies benefit from that a lot,'' he said.

Tsahkna's remarks come weeks after President Karis visited India from February 16 to 20 to participate in the AI Impact Summit, during which he met President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi.

Modi had also met Karis on the sidelines of the AI Action Summit in Paris on 11 February, 2025.

Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visited Estonia in August 2019.