This week, Estonia is hosting a high-level business delegation led by Senator Dr Melanie Leonhard, Minister for Economic Affairs and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Over the course of two days, Estonian entrepreneurs and state representatives are meeting with the delegation to promote cooperation in the fields of transport, logistics, and technology.
The 50-member delegation includes, among many others, the heads of Philips, Beiersdorf, Airbus Operations and Lufthansa Industry Solutions, as well as the ports of Hamburg and Lübeck, and the Hamburg Center for Artificial Intelligence (ARIC).
Strengthening relationships to strengthen innovation, research, and business
“Over five million people live in the Hamburg region,” said Riina Leminsky, representative of Enterprise Estonia in Hamburg, about the visit’s significance. “As a market comparable in size to Finland, it’s one of Europe’s most prosperous, productive, and technologically advanced regions. Cutting-edge solutions for the maritime industry, logistics, and green technologies such as hydrogen and wind are just a few examples.
Leminsky added that the visit, which has been in the works for nearly four years, is the result of long-term cooperation between ARIC and Enterprise Estonia’s Hamburg office. “Two-thirds of the participating technology companies are from the ARIC cooperation network, where Estonia plays an important and visible role, and that is where the interest in the visit comes from. Another important point of the visit is cooperation between ports, which is supported, among other things, by the Hamburg port company HHLA‘s investment in Muuga Harbour.”
Senator Dr Melanie Leonhard pointed out that Estonia, with its favourable business environment, educated workforce, and agility, offers excellent opportunities for cooperation. “As a global logistics centre, we serve as a distribution hub for the Baltic countries right in the middle of Europe. With our maritime orientation, strong industry, and an ecosystem for innovation, research and business, we offer our partners from the Baltic States optimal access to global markets and Germany.”
Leonhard emphasised that the current security situation affects trade throughout Europe. Hamburg is responding to it with a new approach to foreign trade and a desire to strengthen existing good relations. “Estonia and the neighbouring Baltic States will become even more important to us in the future, and we consider this delegation visit an opportunity to further strengthen Hamburg’s business relations in this region,” said Leonhard.
Estonia and Germany working together for the green transition
According to Valdo Kalm, Chairman of the Board of the Port of Tallinn, the green transition creates numerous new opportunities, and much could be done in cooperation with the Germans. “The focus is on producing automation equipment for ports undergoing a green transition. The second is the issue of green fuels. The ports of the future are essentially green energy hubs. The more different green fuels we can offer, the better,” said Kalm.
Kirke Maar, head of TalTech’s artificial intelligence and robotics centre AIRE, said that the visit is crucial for finding new business connections and export opportunities. “We work closely with Hamburg’s artificial intelligence centre ARIC in the fields of research and development, mapping the global market situation, and advising customers in product development and export. For example, TalTech’s spin-off company Mindchip is developing an autonomous ship with the support of artificial intelligence and is very interested in Hamburg as a port city. Our partner universities are also interested in offering their artificial intelligence expertise to large German corporations.”
Collaboration opportunities from autonomous vehicles to muon tomography
During the Tallinn visit, the delegation will visit the e-Estonia Briefing Centre, see a demo of autonomous vehicles by AuveTech and Clevon, and meet with members of the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications.
The robot manufacturer Starship Technologies and the NATO Cyber Defense Centre are also on the agenda, as well as TalTech, Tehnopol, the artificial intelligence and robotics centre AIRE, and GScan, a technology company that recently raised €3 million to advance its cosmic ray muon tomography. The delegation will meet with Minister of Economy and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo, the Deputy Secretary General for Maritime and Water Affairs of the Ministry of Climate Kaupo Läänerand, and the Chairman of the Estonian-German parliamentary group of the Riigikogu Andres Sutt.
To wrap up the action-packed visit, joint plans for the future will be made at the Estonian-German round table on ports and logistics and digitalisation and AI.
Before heading to Tallinn, the delegation visited Riga on Tuesday and Wednesday. The visit is organised in cooperation with Enterprise Estonia, the German Embassy in Tallinn, the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce, and the Latvian Investment and Development Agency LIAA.
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