Estonia to Shut Budapest Embassy by Winter
Estonia has decided to close its embassy in Budapest, Hungary by September 30 and transfer resources to other nations.
“The main reason is that our foreign service must be flexible. To be able to open new embassies when the need arises we must close some as our budget is not limitless,” Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said in a press conference today.
“Reviewing the economic figures, foreign trade and the number of consular cases we decided to that at this moment it is rational to close this embassy and use the resources elsewhere,” he said.
Only 0.12 percent of Estonian foreign investments are made in Hungary, while exports amount to 28 million euros.
Hungary announced a plan to close its embassy in Tallinn a few weeks ago.
Estonia opened an embassy in India last year and plans are in the works for a permanent representation in Brazil.