President of the Republic and Mrs. Helle Meri will on 6-10 November be on state visit to the Federal Republic of Germany on the invitation of Johannes Rau, the President of Germany. On November 6, the programme will start in Stuttgart, in the State of Baden-Württemberg; the President will meet Erwin Teufel, the Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Württemberg, and make a speech ''Enlargement of the European Union as the Motive Force of Europe'' at the Schwäbische Gesellschaft (the Swabian Society).

The official welcoming ceremony on the part of the German President Johannes Rau and Mrs. Christina Rau will take place on November 7 at 10 AM at the Bellevue presidential residence. The Estonian President will also meet the German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, give a speech at the German Chamber of Commerce, and give a presentation ''Estonia as the Touchstone of European Integration?'' in the German Foreign Policy Society. In Berlin, President Meri will meet with German Members of Parliament and representatives of the Municipality of Berlin.

On November 8, President Lennart Meri will inaugurate a memorial plaque on the Estonian Embassy building in Berlin, where the diplomatic mission of Estonia resided already before World War II. President Meri will also open the art exhibition ''Estonian Art at the Turn of the Millennium'', at Lichthof, Berlin.

The visit will be concluded with a trip to the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. On November 9, President Meri will give a speech for the Europe Ministers of 16 German States, and visit the University of Rostock on Friday, October 10.

The delegation accompanying the President will include the Minister of Finance Siim Kallas, the Minister of Defence Jüri Luik, the Rector of Tartu University Jaak Aaviksoo, and a delegation of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by Toomas Luman, Chairman of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On the meetings with German politicians and businessmen, the main emphasis will be on Estonia's foreign policy priorities: accession to the European Union and NATO and economic co-operation, which first of all should concentrate on Estonia's success in the field of information technology, as well as tourism opportunities.

The President and his accompanying delegation will fly from Tallinn to Stuttgart and return from Rostock to Tallinn by a special flight of Estonian Air.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, October 9, 2000

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