PM: US market extremely important for Estonian entrepreneurs

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON - Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas, who began a visit to the United States on Monday, said that the US market is big and the opportunities offered by it extremely important for Estonian exporters. 

"Estonia-US relations are very good already, yet business always has room for growth," Ratas said according to spokespeople. "We have what to offer. The Estonian economy is an economy of the European Union, flexible and innovative, our IT sector and e-state serve as examples elsewhere in the world."

On Tuesday, the prime minister met in New York with representatives of the Baltic American Chamber of Commerce and banks and businesses to intensify business ties between the two countries.

The head of government opened a representation of Enterprise Estonia in New York and visited the companies Google and Pfizer with a business delegation.

At the meeting with representatives of the banking sector, Ratas talked about the activities of the Estonian government in combating money laundering, affirming the Estonian government's commitment to making sure that the country's financial sector is strong and safe.

"We are an open state and when problems are revealed, our solution to them is to address them promptly and in a transparent manner. Thanks to the good work of the Financial Supervision Authority, stricter legislation and banks' wish to contain risks we are in a completely different situation by now than years ago," Ratas said, describing money laundering as an international problem and cooperation with the United States as very important in combating it. 

As a digital state, Estonia has set its sights on containing future risks of the financial sector, having in its toolkit several novel digital solutions that help to detect, prevent and contain risks of the financial sector in an innovative manner, such as by checking the background of potential buyers and partners.

Ratas met with representatives of the Federal Reserve, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank.

On Wednesday, the prime minister will be in Washington, DC, where he will meet with Wilbur Ross, the United States secretary of commerce, to discuss the Three Seas Initiative and its summit taking place in Estonia next year. In addition, the prime minister will meet with Justin Muzinich, deputy secretary of the treasury, and James Risch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The prime minister will give a speech on transatlantic relations at the American Enterprise Institute and meet with the think tank The Heritage Foundation.