Opportunities for Cooperation between Estonia and ... - Valitsus

APPENDIX 1
COOPERATION AND COMPETITIVENESS
Opportunities for cooperation between Estonia and Finland
The historical ties between Estonia and Finland, the similarity of the languages
and culture, and the short distance between the capital cities have created
unique opportunities for fruitful cooperation. As inter-country cooperation
cannot extend to all areas of life, it is thus necessary to make choices. For
objective reasons, the existing conditions and relative size of the two countries,
the resources available and the realistic prospects for further development are,
in certain areas, completely different.
To a great extent, successful cooperation is determined by social capital
that affects mutual trust between people and the willingness to cooperate.
From around the world and even Europe, we have numerous examples of
how national, historical, chauvinistic or language-related circumstances and
associated prejudices often create an invisible barrier to rational cooperation –
a cooperation that would have been beneficial to all parties. No such stumbling
blocks exist between Estonia and Finland today and we have every chance of
avoiding them in the future as well.
Over the past seventeen years, Estonian-Finnish cooperation between citizens,
entrepreneurs, authorities and organizations has been allowed to evolve
freely. Aside from all the positive elements this type of interaction creates, we
sometimes encounter a certain mutual suspicion, favouring of the interests of
one party at the expense of the other, or efforts to make use of the other party
to pursue one’s own goals.
Credit for the varied forms of existing cooperation goes to Finnish estophiles
and friends of Finland in Estonia who have been actively involved in creating,
nurturing and consolidating these relations. Unfortunately, it is often the
same people who are engaged in this work. Far too few young people take
an interest in Estonian-Finnish cooperation and fostering the relationship. The
main reasons for this waning interest is the wealth of opportunities opening up
elsewhere in the world and a poor knowledge of the neighbouring country.
Access to accurate information about the neighbour through the media and
other channels is of great importance. While communications is one area of
cooperation, it also serves as a sort of infrastructure for all extensive cooperation
between the two countries.
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