General information
May 27, 1992, diplomatic relations established between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Estonia.
In July 1995, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Estonia (in combination) was opened.
In July 2011, the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in the Republic of Kazakhstan was opened.
In July 2012, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Finland and the Republic of Estonia (in combination) was opened.
In March 2013, the Consulate of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Tallinn was opened.
On July 18, 2019, by Decree of the President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, the Consulate of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Tallinn was transformed into the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Estonia.
Since December 21, 2019, N.Seitimov has been Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Estonia.
Since August 1, 2021, T.Tirs has been Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Since 2020, Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Paldiski) has been operating in Estonia.
Political relations
Political relations between two countries are developing in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. The positions of the parties on key aspects of international issues are close.
On May 27, 2022, the foreign ministries of Kazakhstan and Estonia adopted a Joint Communiqué on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states.
Top level contacts
In June 1994, the President of the Republic of Estonia L.Meri paid an official visit to Kazakhstan. During the visit, an Agreement of Understanding and Cooperation was signed, as well as an Agreement on Cooperation between Foreign Ministries.
In August 1994, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.Nazarbayev paid an official visit to Estonia, following which a joint statement was signed on the main areas of relations between the countries.
On April 20-21, 2011, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.Nazarbayev paid an official visit to Estonia. Following the event, a number of bilateral documents were signed aimed at deepening interstate partnership.
On February 26-27, 2015, a working visit of the ex-President of Estonia A.Rüütel to the Republic of Kazakhstan at the head of a representative business delegation took place. Interaction in the transit and transport sector is proposed, as well as the introduction of advanced Estonian agro-industrial technologies in order to create joint industries.
On May 30 - June 1, 2015, the ex-president of Estonia A.Rüütel visited the Republic of Kazakhstan to participate in the opening ceremony of the Memorial to the victims of political repression in the village. Spassky Karaganda region.
High level contacts
On September 7-9, 2009, during the official visit of the Prime Minister of Estonia A.Ansip to Astana, negotiations were held with the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.Nazarbayev, the Prime Minister K.Massimov and the Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament, K.J.Tokaev.
On May 4-5, 2012, during the official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia U.Paet to Astana, the official opening ceremony of the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in the Republic of Kazakhstan took place.
On September 6, 2012, during the working visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia A.Ansip to Astana, negotiations were held with the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.Nazarbayev. During the visit, a Kazakh-Estonian business forum was held with the participation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, K.Massimov.
On March 28-29, 2018, the Kazakh delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan A.Zhumagaliev paid an official visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan in order to conduct bilateral negotiations and study Estonian experience in the field of information technology and digitalization of economic sectors.
On May 17-19, 2018, the ex-president of Estonia, Toomas Henrik Ilves, took part in the Astana Economic Forum.
On November 5-6, 2018, the Estonian Prime Minister J.Ratas paid an official visit to Astana, during which negotiations were held with the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.Nazarbayev, the Prime Minister B.Sagintayev, the Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament, K.J.Tokaev, and the Chairman of the Mazhilis Parliament N.Nigmatulin.
On March 10, 2022, a telephone conversation took place between the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan M. Tileuberdi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia E.-M. Liimets, during which the parties discussed bilateral cooperation and interaction on multilateral platforms.
On December 2, 2022, on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Lodz (Poland), a meeting was held between the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan M. Tleuberdi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia U. Reinsalu
Inter-parliamentary cooperation
On May 19-21, 2014, the head of the parliamentary group for cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan of the Riigikogu (Parliament) of the Republic of Estonia D.Borodits paid an official visit to Kazakhstan. During the negotiations, the parties discussed the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
On November 13-16, 2014, a working visit of the deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the head of the parliamentary group for cooperation with the Republic of Estonia B.Ertaev to Tallinn took place.
On July 2-3, 2018, a member of the Riigikogu Group for Cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan (Parliament) of the Republic of Estonia M.Korb took part in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the capital city of Astana and the forum of mayors of the cities of the Silk Road countries.
On November 8-9, 2018, a delegation led by S.Plotnikov, a deputy of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, paid a visit to study the experience of Estonia in the field of lawmaking and legal assistance, the digitalization of the judicial system and the maintenance of registers, as well as holding working meetings in the Parliament and the Ministry of Justice of Estonia.
In 2018 and 2019 Members of the Riigikogu of the Republic of Estonia M.Korb and R.Sikkut visited Astana and held a number of meetings with their Kazakh counterparts.
In January 2021, deputies of the Riigikogu M.Korb and I.Kravchenko visited Astana to monitore the scheduled parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan as independent observers.
On June 4, 2021, an online meeting of members of inter-parliamentary cooperation groups of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Riigikogu of Estonia was held.
The head of the group for cooperation with Estonia in the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a member of the Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal reform B.Bekzhanov. The head of the parliamentary group for friendship with Kazakhstan in the Estonian Riigikogu (Parliament) is the Chairman of the Commission for Culture and Education A.Must (Center Party).
Trade and economic cooperation
According to the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan, bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Estonia for 2022 is fixed at the level of 157.5 million US dollars (exports – 78.2 million, imports – 79.3 million US dollars). In 2022, this indicator amounted to 121.8 million US dollars.
As of January 1, 2022, 74 enterprises with the participation of Estonian capital were registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan, engaged in export-import operations, construction, transport and logistics services, provision of intermediary services, furniture and food production.
In accordance with the Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, Kazakh-Estonian operates Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation (IGC). The co-chair of the Kazakhstani part of the IGC is B.Mussin, Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and T.Aas, Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, of the Estonian Republic.
Six IGC meetings were held (March 2010 - Tallinn, February 2011 – Astana, August 28, 2012 - Tallinn, November 5-6, 2013 – Astana, October 24, 2016 - Tallinn, June 6, 2019. - Astana). The next 7th meeting of the IGC is scheduled for 2022 in Tallinn.
On May 23-26, 2018, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and companies of the Estonian defense industry took part in the international military-technological exhibition KADEX-2018 and held negotiations on military-technical cooperation.
On September 18-20, 2018, at the specialized international exhibition «TransKazakhstan» in Almaty, 11 leading Estonian transport and logistics cluster companies were presented with a national stand.
On March 11-13, 2019, a delegation of the Tallinn University of Technology, headed by Rector Jaak Aviksoo, visited Astanato participate in the international forum "Digitalization: Estonian experience", dedicated to the use of digital technologies. As a result of the forum, Tallinn University of Technology signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the International Technopark of IT Startups Astana Hub.
On March 28-31 and April 4-7, Shymkent delegations made a working visit of 25 people to study Estonian experience in digitalizing the work of the city administration, using modern methods of labor organization and ensuring highly qualified employees, as well as innovative approaches to the interaction of structural units.
At the end of April 2019, a delegation of a number of areas of the national postal operator Kazpost JSC visited Tallinn in order to study the experience of increasing logistics flows, introducing and using innovative solutions in the work of distribution centers, as well as optimizing the work and modernizing regional representations.
In 2019, representatives of Estonia attended two important events: Astana Economic Forum (May 16-17), which was attended by the deputy of the Riigikogu M.Korb, mayors of Tallinn (M.Kylvart), Maardu (V.Arkhipov), Kohtla-Järve (N.Yanchenko), as well as in the Eurasian Media Forum (May 22-24) with the participation of ex-President of Estonia Toomas Henrik Ilves.
On May 13-14, 2020, a web-conference on logistics "TRANSESTONIA 2020" was held, dedicated to the development of the service of container trains passing through Estonia between China and Sweden. The conference was attended by representatives of logistics and the public sector from China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Estonia and Sweden. The Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, B.S.Kamaliev took part from the Kazakhstan side and representatives of KTZ RK. The aim of the conference was to strengthen cooperation and increase freight traffic on the so-called The Northern Silk Road.
Following the conference, the text of the Tallinn Declaration was approved, allowing the parties to strengthen cooperation and communication between the countries of the Northern Silk Road Corridor in order to increase freight traffic and develop new business services, taking into account national development programs and international agreements on Eurasian routes.
In November 2020, a delegation of Estonian entrepreneurs representing the areas of green economy, agriculture, construction and communications visited the city of Astanaand the West Kazakhstan region. During the visit, issues of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Estonia in the fields of green technologies, fish production and disposal of household waste were discussed.
On May 26, 2021, Embassy of Kazakhstan in Estonia, Embassy of Estonia in Kazakhstan, Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and JSC «Kazakh Invest National Company» held an online Kazakhstani-Estonian business forum.
On October 13-15, 2021, at the specialized international exhibition «TransLogistica» in Almaty, 11 leading Estonian companies in the transport and logistics cluster were presented with a separate national stand.
On October 20-22, 2021, delegations from the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and the Estonian Animal Breeding Association visited Kazakhstan to participate in the International Agricultural Exhibition «KazAgro/KazFarm-2021». During the visit, the Estonian delegation held talks with «KazAgro» NMH» JSC.
On November 29-30, 2021, separate delegations of «KTZ» JSC (transportation of transit goods) and Kazakhstani farmers (organizing the supply of agricultural products) visited Estonia.
On April 25, 2022, Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with JSC NC "Kazakh Invest" and the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, organized a Kazakh-Estonian investment webinar with the participation of Estonian entrepreneurial entities in the sectors of agriculture, fishing, chemical industry, consulting and financial services.
In May 2022, a delegation of Estonian entrepreneurs from the Ida-Virumaa region visited Almaty, which established ties with the Chamber of International Commerce of the Republic of Kazakhstan and local business communities.
In September 2022, 10 Estonian companies of the transport and logistics cluster took part in the international exhibition «TransLogistica» in Almaty, including the largest seaports of the Republic of Estonia in Sillamäe and Tallinn, as well as Estonian Railways. Estonian companies were presented within a separate national stand.
On September 27 - October 2, 2022, a Kazakh delegation led by the Association of Management Entities, Services in the Housing Sector "Shanyrak" visited Tallinn to study the mechanism of activity of Estonian organizations specializing in housing management. During the trip, the experience of Estonia in training and lobbying the interests of property managers was studied.
In November 2022 а delegation of entrepreneurs from the Ida-Virumaa region (11 companies) visited Astana and Almaty, got acquainted with the investment opportunities of the republic and held meetings with enterprises from Kazakhstan in the B2B format.
Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation
Since 2004, the Kazakh society “Abai” has been operating in Tallinn, which regularly organizes events dedicated to the promotion of the culture and history of Kazakhstan. On June 22-25, 2017, the chairman of the Kazakh Abai society in Estonia A.Abduvakhitova took part in the World Kurultai of Kazakhs in Astana.
In 2009, 2011 and 2014 Festivals of Kazakh cinema were organized in Tallinn.
Since 2015, there has been a regular exchange of students and undergraduates with Tartu, Tallinn Humanities and Tallinn Technical Universities, included in the list of recommended Estonian universities under the Bolashak program.
On the eve of the Victory Day holiday on May 9, 2018, the remains of the Red Army soldier A.Nagaitsev, who died in 1944 during the liberation of Estonia, were organized for reburial in Kazakhstan.
In 2018, Kazakhstani artists from the South Kazakhstan region and the youth team of the Kazakh diaspora from St. Petersburg gave concerts in Tallinn at cultural events dedicated to Estonia's 100th anniversary.
On November 8-10, 2019, Embassy of Kazakhstan with the Tallinn City Hall and the Estonian Filmmakers Guild, organized a screening of films by the Kazakh director Rashid Nugmanov on the 30th anniversary of the release of the cult film “The Needle”.
On February 21 and 23, 2020, in the cities of Astanaand Almaty, the University of Tartu held an information session on learning opportunities for those wishing to enroll in undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. Also participated in the exhibition of universities Begin Edu Fair in Astana.
On February 24, 2020, the celebration of the 102nd anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Estonia was held in Tallinn, during which the Chairman of the Kazakh Society in Estonia "Atameken" Aidynai Bukharbayeva read the manifesto of independence in the Kazakh language.
On May 24, 2020, with the assistance of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Estonia, a commemorative sign was officially unveiled at a tree planted in honor of the famous Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergenov in the 300-year-old Kadriorg Park in Tallinn.
On November 23, 2020, Embassy of Kazakhstan with the Ministry of culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Union of Writers and the National Academic Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan held an international round table "Abai Kunanbayuly and World Culture" in the format of a video conference, with the participation of the Chairman of the Union of Writers of Estonia T.Alekseev, famous Estonian writer R.Veidemann, representatives of the Ministry culture of the Republic of Estonia and the Tallinn Central Library.
On November 27, 2020, the film "Ulbolsyn" by Kazakhstani director A.Erzhanov was declared "Best Asian Film" at the XXIV Tallinn Film Festival "Dark Nights".
On June 9, 2021, as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Estonia, together with the National Academic Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan, held an online international round table with the participation of experts from the two countries.
On August 31, 2021 in one of the historical sites of the Estonian capital - in the oldest park "Kadriorg", a photo exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan has opened on the theme "Kazakhstan recognized by the international community."
In November 2021, the feature film Mukagali, directed by Bolat Kalymbetov, received the special award of the jury at the 25th «Black Nights» Film Festival (PÖFF) in Tallinn. In addition, Kazakh films "18 kHz" and "Collective Immunity" took part in the film festival.
On December 4, 2021, Embassy together with the Kazakh community in Estonia, took part in an international charity fair to promote Kazakh culture in Estonia. Kazakh national souvenirs, books and national dishes were presented at the fair.
On December 16, 2021, at the initiative of the Embassy in honor of the 30th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Freedom Square (Vabaduse väljak) in the center of Tallinn was painted in the colors of the national flag of Kazakhstan.
On January 24-28, 2022, the delegation of Astana IT University visited Tallinn, during which a number of meetings were held with the leadership of the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) and Tallinn University, representatives of the Estonian state bodies responsible for digital policy and the e-Government Academy of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian side acquainted the delegation with the processes of training IT specialists and establishing scientific activities in this area.
In March 2022, as part of the PISA educational project, representatives of the Department of Education and Youth of the Republic of Estonia visited Astanaand shared Estonia's experience in school management.
In June 2022, the «Artis» cinema in Tallinn hosted the «National Film Days» festival, where films by Kazakh filmmakers – «Fire» (2021) and «Yellow Cat» (2020) were presented.
In June 2022, a delegation of Astanaschool leaders visited Tallinn to study the Estonian education system. The program of the visit included getting acquainted with the experience of planning education and a subject study of the activities of educational institutions with a visit to several Tallinn gymnasiums.
On September 5, 2022, a competition of masters of artistic reading was held at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Estonia as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the famous Kazakh public figure Akhmet Baitursynov, with participation of the local Kazakh diaspora.
In September 2022, at the initiative of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Estonia, a photo exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Estonia with a documentary series about modern Kazakhstan was opened in the Tallinn Central Library.
On September 19, 2022, Embassy of Kazakhstan organized a photo exhibition Tallinn dedicated to the anniversary of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site closure. The event was also dedicated to the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
In November 2022, in order to study the activities of educational institutions in Estonia and get acquainted with the experience of planning education, a delegation of representatives of 53 secondary schools in Almaty visited Tallinn. During the visit, Kazakh teachers got access to modern methods of pedagogy and shared their experience in introducing new scientific developments in the field of school education. In this vein, the Kazakh delegation visited the Lasnamäe Gymnasium in the Estonian capital, where they received practical knowledge of organizing school activities.
On December 3, 2022, Embassy of Kazakhstan in cooperation with the Kazakh community in Estonia took part in the 17th International Christmas Charity Fair organized by the International Women's Club of Tallinn. The interest of visitors to the fair was aroused by the stand of Kazakhstan with elements of national culture: souvenirs, educational books about traditions and everyday life, samples of culinary art. The event takes place annually on the Tallinn Baltic market. All proceeds were donated to local children's and women's charities.