Ratas starts four-day visit to United States
Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center) is travelling to the United States on Monday. On his four-day visit, Ratas will head a trade delegation as well as promote the Estonian centenary at educational and Estonian cultural institutions.
The Government Office announced on Monday that Ratas’ trip is intended to promote business relations between the two countries as well as recognize those companies who have stood out in that respect.
To promote the 2018 centenary, Ratas will meet with Estonians living in the U.S. that have “contributed and continue to contribute to the continuation and success story of Estonia”.
On Tuesday the prime minister will meet with the Estonian Society of Indianapolis, and in the evening is scheduled to give a lecture on the Republic of Estonia at Indiana University Bloomington.
On Wednesday he will continue to San Francisco, where he will visit Stanford University’s renowned international research institute along with a business delegation. Scientists at the institute among other things work on the development of artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles, and image and language recognition.
A visit to the university’s library is also planned. Its archive is home to the largest collection of materials on Estonia in the United States. Ratas will meet with Estonians working and studying at Stanford, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and other acclaimed researchers and professors of the school.
Ratas will also visit the world’s largest startup accelerator, the Plug & Play Tech Center, and observe the work of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to discuss how Estonia could contribute to the its work.
On Aug. 31 and Sept. Ratas is in Los Angeles to visit the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, where he will introduce the Estonian economy to Californian entrepreneurs.
In Los Angeles Ratas will also open the West Coast Estonian Days. He will take part in a discussion on Estonia’s relations with the United States and the world.
The business delegation travelling with Ratas includes representatives of the defense industry, IT, energy, and the creative industry. The trip of the business delegation is organized by the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with Enterprise Estonia.
Ratas will be back in Estonia on Saturday evening.
Editor: Dario Cavegn
Source: BNS, ERR
