PM Ansip met US Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
30.11.2007
Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip visited the United States of America.
Prime Minister met US Vice-President Dick Cheney
At the meeting, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Vice President Dick Cheney stated that the relations between the two countries are very good. Cheney confirmed that Estonia and the United States of America are great cooperation partners and that Estonia may count on the continued support of the USA.
The main topic of the meeting was the international missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Estonia is participating together with the USA. According to Cheney, the Estonian contribution is highly appreciated. In his words, Estonia is active in complicated areas and performs a significant role.
At the meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip discussed bilateral relations between the USA and Estonia, the visa simplification programme, and the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to Condoleezza Rice, the relations between the two countries are great and visa freedom between Estonia and the USA is possible in the near future. “Technical solutions are being developed, political resolutions have already been made,” said Rice, according to whom the level of preparations made in Estonia is good, enabling fast progress.
Ansip was assured there are no political hindrances to applying visa freedom with the USA
At the meeting, Paul Schneider, US Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, confirmed to Prime Minister Andrus Ansip that the joining of Estonia with the visa simplification programme is a priority for the USA, and expressed his hope that Estonians can soon travel to the USA on the basis of a simplified procedure.
According to Paul Schneider, all political resolutions have been made and only certain technical issues are yet to be solved, which are hoped to be done in 2008.
PM Ansip handed over Estonian support for establishing the Virtual Museum of Communist Crimes
Washington, 29 November 2007 - In Washington, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip handed over the Estonian donation to the fund for the establishment of the International Virtual Museum of Communist Crimes to Lee Edwards, chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Estonia donated 5000 US dollars for the establishment of the international virtual museum.
According to Prime Minister Ansip, great support by the people helped Estonia change its economic system
California, 30 November 2007 – In the presentation made at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that Estonia has managed to transform its economy from a strongly controlled system into an economy based one due to the fast reforms carried out with the support of the people. At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed that although the greater domestic reforms have been completed, our work is not done yet.
