On Friday, Reinsalu sent a letter to Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, thanking the United Kingdom for its unwavering support for Estonia's security and defence. 

"We will have the knowledge that while leaving the European Union, the UK will not leave Europe," Reinsalu wrote in the letter, referring to reassurances by the UK government.

"Relations between Estonia and the United Kingdom have been and will remain close, and our partnership will definitely continue in many international formats. British troops will continue to serve in Tapa and our cooperation in the UN Security Council will continue," the minister said.

He added that in exactly one year's time we shall reach another milestone in our bilateral relations as on 26 January 1921, the UK de jure recognised the Republic of Estonia.

"I hope that by that time we will have sketched out the future strategy of our bilateral relations built on shared interests and values. We would like to see our cooperation to extend primarily in the areas of security and defence, cyber and digital affairs as well as in the mobility of students and academia," he wrote. 

January 31 is the last day the United Kingdom is a member of the European Union.

February 1 sees the start of a transition period that runs until the end of the year, during which the European Union and the United Kingdom will continue negotiations over future relations.

The rights currently in force apply until the end of the year to Estonian citizens and entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom, so no changes will affect areas such as traveling, ordering parcels and doing business. During the transition period, the United Kingdom and the European Union will agree on their future relations.

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