Estonian producers’ interest in the British market keeps growing, said Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand, who on December 11th opened the British branch of the British-Estonian Chamber of Commerce (BECC), reports LETA/BNS.

Photo: Andres Vare

Kaljurand said the expansion of the BECC to the UK is a firm sign that economic and business ties between the two countries have become closer from year to year and Estonian businesspeople are taking more and more interest in the British market. “London is for Estonian entrepreneurs definitely one of the best places in Europe to start international business,” the press service of the Estonian Foreign Ministry quoted Kaljurand as saying.

Intensifying of bilateral economic cooperation is directly connected with good and active cooperation between the Estonian and British governments that has picked up in several areas, in particular information and communications technology, the minister observed. “For example, we and the UK both are members of Digital 5, a network of leading digital governments, and at the initiative of the British embassy the cooperation platform UK-Estonia TechLink was recently launched,” she said.

According to latest figures around 40 entrepreneurs with Estonian connections are operating in London, nearly half of them in the IT sector. BECC representative Eva-Liisa Partel explained that the aim of BECC UK is to provide a contact network and cooperation platform to both countries’ entrepreneurs.

“Exchanges of experiences and best practices, organization of sector-specific discussions, business trips to different regions of the UK, contact events for British businesspeople and investors interested in the Estonian market – these are the areas in which BECC UK wants to be an active participant,” Partel said.

The British-Estonian Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1996. Among its members are British companies doing business in Estonia as well as numerous Estonian businesses. While it hitherto focused on Estonia, it has now decided to expand to the UK in view of Estonian businesspeople’s increased interest.

BECC UK will be coordinated by Ivar Veskioja, director of the UK office of the Estonian business services company 1Office Group.

Source: BNS