in Copenhagen. The political lives of the two states have been somewhat intertwined: The former Israeli minister of social and diaspora affairs Michael Melchior was born in Denmark and is the son of former chief rabbi in Copenhagen, Bent Melchior, the nephew of former Danish minister of traffic and minister of tourism and communication Arne Melchior, and the grandson of the acting rabbi for the Jewish refugees from Denmark in Sweden 1943–45, Marcus Melchior; the executive director of the Peres Center for Peace 2001–2011, Ron Pundak who played an important role in starting the Oslo peace process and was part of the core group behind the Geneva Initiative, is the son of the influential Danish journalist Herbert Pundik; and the prominent Israeli politician Yohanan Plesner, former chairman of the Plesner Committee, is the son of Danish architect Ulrik Plesner. Estonia Estonia and Israel maintain excellent relations. Israel officially recognized the Republic of Estonia on 4 September 1991 and diplomatic relations were established on 9 January 1992. Foreign Minister Urmas Paet opened the Estonian Embassy in Tel Aviv in November 2009. As of 2012, bilateral trade with Israel was 19.9 million euros. Finland In 2004, a joint Finland-Israel Technology (FIT) cooperation program was created for research and development projects in the field of ICT. The Office of the Chief Scientist in Israel and Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Research and Innovation, allocated five million euros each for the funding of projects. In 2005, Finnish exports to Israel totaled 155,24 million euros and imports from Israel to Finland totaled 95.96 million euros. Finland's leading exports to Israel are telecommunications equipment and machinery, and Israeli fruits and vegetables. France In the early 1950s, France and Israel maintained close political and military ties as common enemies of Pan-Arab nationalism. France was Israel's main weapons supplier until its withdrawal from Algeria in 1962 removed most common interest from the relationship, and France became increasingly critical of Israel. This new reality became clear when, in the crisis leading up to the Six-Day War in June 1967, Charles de Gaulle's government imposed an arms embargo on the region, mostly affecting Israel, which had relied on France for weapons over the previous decade. Under François Mitterrand in the early 1980s, French–Israeli relations improved greatly. Mitterrand was the first French president to visit Israel while in office. In 1967, after the Six-Day War, 5,300 French Jews immigrated to