Prime Minister to meet with members of Estonian Society of Indianapolis

TALLINN - Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas, who began a visit to the United States on Moday, is scheduled to meet with members of the Estonian Society of Indianapolis and deliver a lecture about the one hundred years of the Republic of Estonia at Indiana University on Tuesday.

The prime minister's visit serves two goals. The first goal is to help entrepreneurs who work on developing future technologies develop business relationships, acknowledge the work they have done so far and encourage foreign investment in Estonia. The second goal is to highlight the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, the celebration of which started this spring.

The prime minister will meet local Estonians who have contributed and continue to contribute to the independence and the success story of the Republic of Estonia, spokespeople for the government said.

The prime minister on Tuesday will meet with the Estonian Society of Indianapolis and in the evening is scheduled to give a lecture on the century-old Republic of Estonia at Indiana University in Bloomington.

On Wednesday, the prime minister will be in San Francisco, where he and a business delegation will visit SRI International, a prestigious international research institute of Stanford University, where scientists work on developing artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles and image and language recognition, among other things. Another visit will take the Estonian head of government to Plug&Play Tech Center, the world's largest startup accelerator. The prime minister will also learn about the work of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution at the World Economic Forum, in order to discuss how Estonia might contribute to its work.

In addition, the prime minister will visit the library of Stanford University, which holds the most extensive archive of Estonian materials in the United States, meeting with Estonians who study and work at Stanford University, former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and other acclaimed researchers and professors. The meetings will focus on opportunities for cooperation in the field of education and research, development of the world economy and key topics of the European Union.

On Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, the prime minister will be in Los Angeles to introduce the opportunities offered by the Estonian economy to Californian entrepreneurs at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. A letter of intent on cooperation will be signed at the head office of Hyperloop One.

On the evening of Aug. 31 local time the prime minister will open the West Coast Estonian Days and take part in a discussion about Estonia, the United States and the world to be held the next morning.

This is the 33rd time that West Coast Estonian Days are held. During the festival dedicated to Estonian culture, more than 600 guests from North America and Estonia will experience choral singing, folk dancing, a family picnic and can gather at a secret tavern every night. The West Coast Estonian Days is the largest celebration of Estonia's centenary in North America.

The prime minister will return to Estonia on Saturday evening.