The president's foreign affairs adviser Celia Kuningas-Saagpak said Karis will visit important partners to Estonia to confirm cooperative goals.

"It is tradition to visit your closest international partners and colleagues at the start of a term. Communication with Finland and Lithuania is very important for Estonia, they are our closest friends and allies. We have similar views on many topics, together we will solve the challenges of today - from climate policy to security, not to mention the coronavirus crisis," the adviser said, adding that the president intends to focus on these topics in conversations.

Karis will meet Finnish president Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki on Tuesday. He will also go to a Konrad Mäe exhibition called "Maalikunsti müstika" and will meet with Estonian-Finland cooperation representatives. The president also plans to visit the refurbished Estonian Embassy to Finland and speak to daily Helsingin Sanomat and TV channel MTV3.

On Wednesday, the president will be in Vilnius, where he will meet Lithuanian head of state Gitanas Nauseda, after which the presidents will speak at a press conference. Karis will also visit the Estonian Embassy to Lithuania and will give an interview to Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.

Karis was initially set to meet his Finnish and Latvian colleagues earlier in October, but the meetings were canceled after Latvian President Egils Levits tested positive for the coronavirus, while Finnish President Sauli Niinistö was isolating.

Instead, Karis, on his first visit as president of Estonia, met with Saeima Speaker Inara Murniece and spoke to the Latvian president on the phone.

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