Estonia, Good for Business, Latvia, Real Estate

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to find new premises for the embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Riga. The current premises are largely depreciated and not the most suitable for the main activity. This is why the search for new premises has been launched," ministry spokesperson Inga Bowden told ERR.

The ministry has also organized a public procurement for finding a new building.

"The search is currently aimed at acquiring a new building in which it would be possible to build out premises according to the embassy's needs with as few resources as possible -- the building should enable to establish the representation, consular reception and office space necessary for the activity of the embassy. The building's construction will be guided by the functionality and security requirements set forth for embassies," Bowden said.

The Estonian embassy is currently located in a building owned by the state of Estonia at 13 Skolas iela in the Riga city center. The same building housed the embassy also before the war and the embassy was established there again in 1995.

The ministry spokesperson said that the area of the current six-story building is approximately 5,600 square meters. The new building should be "more compact and functional", Bowden said. The plan is to sell the current building and the establishment of a new building is to be financed with the money earned from the sale.

According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are nine people working at the Estonian embassy in Riga.

In 2007, the ministry organized an architectural competition for the construction of a new building on the property of the embassy but the designs submitted were not put into work.