Article was published on the English-language business online newspaper BBN.ee on June 16, 2008

Estonia 2018: A Vision of the Future

Stanley Davis (Dave) Phillips, U.S. Ambassador to Estonia.

I'm very happy to be asked to contribute my thoughts on the future of Estonia ten years from now. Estonia has been moving on a clear path to success for many years, which makes predictions like this much easier.

For starters, I predict that in 10 years, Estonians' standard of living will be above the EU average, as a result of the sound and transparent fiscal policies adopted by many successive governments. Hopefully, this prosperity will encourage more Estonians to visit the United States as tourists, business people or perhaps as students to see the diversity and culture that we have.

But the tourism, business and study will not be one-way. I also envision Estonia's already thriving tourism industry capitalizing on the country's natural beauty and becoming an eco-tourist destination. Yes, in the summertime the Tallinn port will still be full of cruise ships, but Americans and other foreigners will be discovering the charms not only of the Tallinn Old Town, but of Lahemaa National Park, Lake Peipsi, Saaremaa and everywhere in between.

As Estonia has demonstrated in the past, you will make your own rules - developing a tourist infrastructure that protects and celebrates the wondrous natural beauty and diverse cultures of this country. And when Americans travel here, we will be converting our dollars into Euros by 2018, instead of crowns, as accession to the Euro zone will have happened several years before!

In 2018, I am sure that Skype will not be the only household word known around the world to come from Estonia. Your economy will be booming. The next wave of innovators will draw upon a dynamic, diverse, and fully integrated workforce, reflecting the Estonian society that will attract experts, both from inside and outside the EU, to come live and work here, in E-stonia, adopting it as their new home.

As our friend and ally approaches its 100th anniversary, Estonia will still be a model to countries like Georgia, Ukraine, and others on issues such as governing transparently, expanding economic opportunity, and respecting intellectual property rights. I expect Estonia will also be a model for the EU and the world on protecting critical data infrastructure; in 2018 the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center here in Tallinn will be celebrating ten years as a NATO-accredited Center of Excellence. Who knows what else to expect in ten years from Estonia, but one thing is sure: the best is yet to come.