Farewell Press Briefing

It's been an honor and a privilege to represent my government and my country in your country at such an important time in history. I've tried very hard to leave a legacy, to leave an American presence and a set of American policies that are stronger. The American Embassy and the American presence here have grown, both quantitatively and qualitatively. It is an excellent embassy, it is an embassy that works very closely with Estonians at all levels of government and society, and I hope that as you move into the future, the American Embassy will continue to develop in ways that breathe life and meaning into the partnership that America and Estonia have in this part of the world. It's a partnership with other democracies trying to shape and to build a whole new Europe on common principles, on common values, and on common interests. I think working together and over time, we can accomplish that.

Much has happened in Estonia in just five or six years, but from my perspective, the best is still to come. And I know that America will be a friend and partner to Estonia in building that future. Let me stop there, and again, the real message, the short message, the thirty second sound bite message is: Thank you Estonia.

Q: The late Ambassador Frasure had among his main achievements, apart from re-establishing an American diplomatic presence here in Estonia, the problems related to the Russian troop withdrawal from Estonia. Now what would you call your main achievement?

A: I think there are two things. The first relates to the development of the American Embassy presence itself. Remember that six years ago, the American presence in Estonia was a hotel room, a phone, a fax and one person. And today it's a medium-sized, energetic, creative embassy, working across the board with Estonia in a number of areas to build democracy, to build market opportunity, and to help shape this new Europe. We have added a defense attache, a security assistance officer, we have opened an FBI office, we have brought in a regional security officer, we have given a much higher priority to strengthening the economic and commercial relations between Estonia and the United States. So all of those things are built on the legacy that Bob Frasure left. And whoever comes after me needs to take it up another notch and build it further, because it is a work in progress. But that building and strengthening of the American presence here, in the ways I've described, with those new activities here, and focusing on the importance of strengthening the economic and commercial relationship, are things that I'm extremely proud of and I think will stand the test of time. They won't stop, they'll continue to contribute in positive ways to our relationship in years ahead.

The second thing that I'm most proud of is this relationship. We look at what happened in the Madrid summit for NATO, we see the European Commission decision that affects Estonia, Secretary Albright's visit to Vilnius and her discussions with the Baltic Foreign Ministers there, the success of the staging of the peace-keeping exercise "Baltic Challenge" at Paldiski -- I think the relationship is on a roll. It is moving rapidly and favorably. I am terribly sad to be leaving Estonia, because a part of my heart and a part of Lynda's heart is here, and we can't take it away with us, it's too firmly implanted in Estonia soil to be removed, I am very happy to say as I leave that I don't think the relationship between the United States and Estonia has ever been better. This is a very, very excellent relationship at the moment, and we need to keep it going.

Q: Are you satisfied with the current level of business relations between the United States and Estonia, and is there something your successor could do to improve them further?

A: Well, I'm never going to be satisfied, because while I'm very happy about what has been done, I think our purpose is to roll up our sleeves and to work harder to get more done. As you all know, I have tried to personally give a very strong priority to the economic and commercial relationship between the two countries. We have established a strong, growing American Chamber of Commerce in Estonia. In fact, just before you came, there were at least 40 members of the American Chamber in the same room meeting with me about economic and commercial issues in Estonia. That couldn't have happened two years ago. But we're not satisfied; we want that Chamber to be bigger and stronger and more active yet. There are many more companies in Estonia from America today, and many more companies looking at possibilities in Estonia, than there were two years ago, but we want even more. So it's like everything, it's a work in progress that needs to be taken to a new level.

And some of the things we can do are to facilitate the awareness of the American business community about opportunities in Estonia. I'd like to see more trade missions here. I'd like to see more state trade missions -- Maryland or Minnesota or Pennsylvania -- states in the United States, to come to Estonia and try to do business for the companies located in those states. I'd like to see a major regional conference on investment opportunities in the Baltic states, in which we bring American companies located throughout Europe and American companies in the United States. These are all things that we can do together in the future.

We also have a number of opportunities on the plate right before us now that we could capitalize on, in terms of some major privatizations going on in Estonia -- the energy privatization, the railroad privatization. So I think it's important that we take advantage of what we have at the moment as well.

Q: You listed a lot of things you have done, and I think Estonia is very thankful for what you have done. Is there anything you didn't have time to do, anything you haven't done?

A: It's a wonderful question, because part of me is so sad to leave all of the experiences and the relationships here. But part of me is sorry to leave because of the things not yet done. I'll mention one, which I very much hope can be done soon. In memory of Bob Frasure, Estonia and the United States have worked together to establish a scholarship in his name, and to set up an annual lecture series in his name, of very high quality. The scholarship is moving forward. We need to have that first excellent lecture in Bob's memory here. I hope that can be done in the next two to three months, and I'll be very sorry not to have been able to participate in it. But I'll be very happy to see it done.

Q: I have no question, I just want to thank you.

A: Well, thank you. And again, that is my message to Estonia. You probably, some of you, have heard me say before that it's not often that a person, or an organization, or a country gets a second chance, a chance to start over. And that's what's happened by a miracle of history, in Central Europe and here in the Baltic states, in Estonia. And it's such a marvelous opportunity that we can't -- none of us who believe in the values and the principles that that opportunity embodies -- can ever stop working to make sure that we seize them and take advantage of them. Freedom doesn't guarantee success, it only guarantees opportunities. And it's up to us to turn those opportunities into success. I think that spirit characterizes the American presence here since Bob arrived, and I am confident it will continue to characterize the American presence in the future.