Ambassador's Speech to Maryland Estonia Partner Cities Conference

Radisson SAS – September 22, 2004

Tere hommikust and good morning! It is my great pleasure to speak to you today about the partnership between the State of Maryland and Estonian cities and counties. The Federal Government of the United States and the Government of Estonia, certainly work hard to cement relations on an official level – in areas such as cooperative projects, agreements, and high-level visits.

But, the real impression that Estonians gain about Americans (and Americans about Estonians) isn't the result of treaties and demarches. Rather, it comes from people from our two countries, spending time in one another's homes, and seeing how others live and work. As technology brings us all closer these exchanges between counties, cities and towns make the connections more personal. The success of the partner city projects lies in your hands.

Presently the U.S.-Estonian relations are excellent. We share common values -- in our embrace of vibrant democracies, free markets, and a love of freedom -- but also a history of offering support to each other in difficult times. For nearly fifty years America supported Estonia's aspirations to regain independence and full sovereignty. Since regaining independence, the United States assisted Estonia's accession into two key trans-Atlantic and European institutions – NATO and the European Union -- and the successful establishment of the vibrant civic society Estonia enjoys today.

Estonia, in turn, has proven itself a principled and courageous ally of the United States, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and in numerous operations around the world, devoted to maintaining peace and stability. Estonia demonstrates its common values and interests with the United States in numerous international, political and economic organizations. I speak for the American people and for President George W. Bush when I say that we deeply appreciate Estonia's meaningful contributions to our joint security and interests.

Now there are vital areas in which we can expand our partnership. With a background as a medical doctor, I am particularly interested in working with Estonia to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. A powerful weapon, in our battle against these terrible diseases is community awareness and support. Our partner cities should band together and share their lessons learned, preventing the spread of disease, and supporting those community members touched by this tragedy. Maryland and Estonia both have the knowledge, the tools, and the motivation to fight this problem. I think we could achieve impressive results if those resources are combined.

Thanks to Estonia's remarkable work in developing an environment friendly to business, entrepreneurship, and foreign investment, there are tremendous opportunities to expand our nations' trade relationship. I will continue to work with the American and Estonian business communities to develop this potential to its full extent. Consider, for instance, the business relationship between Pärnu and Ocean City: both are popular beach resorts. Ocean City has a need for extra hands during their busy summer months; and young residents of Pärnu, in turn have skills in beach resort industries. When the young residents of Pärnu come back after their summers in Ocean City, they bring back from the United States first-hand experiences.

Another example of successful partnership is the Educational exchange program. The Embassy and a group of Maryland institutions collaborated on a $107,000 project, funded by the State Department called the Maryland Estonia Educational Consortium. An Exchange of scholars is presently underway.

I'd like to call attention to one of the most successful partnerships, namely, the one between Paide and Westminster. They have exchanged administrators, business people, performing artists and school groups. Taking advantage of the presence of the Random House distribution center in Westminster, the Westminster partners worked with Random House to donate children's books to Estonian libraries. Together with an Embassy grant to get the books across the ocean, the program was wildly successful.

These local examples of partnership and cooperation are important to our countries' relationship. As the relationship between the State of Maryland and Estonia develops, spreading to other cities and counties, we grow stronger bonds between our citizens.

Yes, I am the U.S. Ambassador to Estonia, but I see each of you as ambassadors of your towns and states; sharing and learning, growing relationships between Estonians and Americans. So, I challenge you to keep the Partner Cities program strong and build on your friendship and cooperation. I look forward to your continued success.

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today and my best wishes for your combined endeavors. Thank you very much! Tänan ja nägemist!