Reinsalu initiates ‘Little Davos’

TALLINN - Around 40 CEOs, honorary consuls and public intellectuals from abroad gathered in Tallinn on Aug. 19 to discuss the heady questions of what Estonia should do next as a nation, and how it can improve its chances for success in the global marketplace. The symposium, entitled ‘Quo vadis, Estonia’ (Where are you going, Estonia?), was hosted by the president of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves. Former Latvian president Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Estonia’s former prime minister Mart Laar also took part in the discussion.

The topics addressed ranged from how to be a more open society and defend democratic values to practical suggestions such as increasing the use of wind energy and easing visa restrictions on workers from Asia.
The symposium was part of a three-day event, the Estonia’s Friends International Meeting, a mostly cultural program in which the foreign VIP guests attended dinners, musical performances and met the prime minister. On Aug. 20, they also attended an official reception for Estonia’s Day of Restoration of Independence.

The project was organized jointly by the Office of the President, the country’s largest support institution for business Enterprise Estonia and businessman Margus Reinsalu, owner of the KC Grupp investment company.
Reinsalu, who initiated the project, said that the main purpose of the meeting was to introduce Estonia to the foreign delegates, which he said was far more effective than simply talking about his country while abroad.

“You have to start from some point, and this is the first time we’re organizing this kind of event,” he said. “It’s good to do every year... and then between these events you can see how things can be done, how to put ideas to work.”
“Apart from our own vigor, the Estonian people are also obliged to hundreds of our friends in other countries who have helped us in all respects,” Enterprise Estonia’s board member Maria Alajoe said in a statement before the symposium. “This is an opportunity to acknowledge it and receive feedback and advice for the future.”