Photos
Interview with Ambassador Wos in the newspaper "Ärileht" (In Estonian only)

Press Release

OVER ONE HUNDRED U.S. BUSINESSES LEARN BENEFITS OF BUSINESS IN THE BALTICS AT U.S.-SPONSORED TRADE MISSION

Representatives of over one hundred major U.S. businesses learned the benefits of doing business in Estonia at the "U.S. Ambassadors to the Baltics Trade and Investment Mission" that took place in London on December 8, 2004. The event was organized by the U.S. State Department in conjunction with the U.S. Embassies in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Prime Minister Juhan Parts, introduced by U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Dr. Aldona Wos, told the assembled business representatives about the excellent trade and investment opportunities for U.S. businesses in Estonia, now that Estonia has acceded to the European Union.

The guest list for the event included such notable American businesses as Sun Microsystems, Citibank, Merck, Goldman Sachs, Boeing, Motorola, AOL Time Warner, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bechtel, Morgan Stanley, Ernst & Young, and many others. U.S. business representatives traveled from the United States and from locations throughout Europe to attend this large scale event. Daniel Bain, CEO of Galvex, and Paul Oberschneider, Chairman of Ober-Haus Real Estate, were among the Americans already based in Estonia who attested to Estonia's business-friendly environment at this seminar.

In addition to primary sponsorship from the U.S. Department of State, support from Enterprise Estonia was instrumental in the success of this event. Estonia's official delegation at the event included Ms. Signe Ratso, Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, and Mr. Raul Malmstein, Counselor to the Government.

Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus also presented at the event, accompanied by U.S. Ambassadors Brian Carlson and Stephen Mull, respectively, as well as delegations from their countries.

For additional information or further Embassy commentary on this event, please contact Evelin Kokkota at kokkotae@state.gov
tel. 668 81 50.