The Baltics and the Future

 

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
 
First and foremost, I would like to thank the newly established Danish Chamber of Commerce in Latvia for inviting me to speak before the business community in Latvia.
 
I would also like to thank the many friends of Denmark and Latvia from all over Europe who have joined the Danish Chamber of Commerce this evening.
 
Thank you all for coming.
 
One of the main reasons I was pleased to receive the invitation to join you tonight, was, that I see an evening like this one as inspiring for our daily work.
 
The value of meeting colleagues, friends - and foes - can not be over-estimated.
 
You can call it a network. You can call it a clan, or a tribe, or a family. But whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need it!
 
That is also why we established Baltic Development Forum back in late 1998 - almost five years ago.
 
Besides wanting to bring together the region's decision-makers from politics, business, academia and the media, Baltic Development Forum wanted to develop and set new regional agendas - that could transform the region into a coherent area of excellence.
 
You can only do that if you establish public-private partnerships and networks. So that was what we did!
 
Baltic Development Forum has gradually proven its strength as the Baltic Sea region’s main summit organiser and networking forum.
 
And I do believe that the members and partners of Baltic Development Forum - together with the many participants at our summits - actually has pushed the European and Baltic Sea agenda during the last five years.
One of our main goals at the first two summits in Copenhagen and in Malmö was to secure the enlargement of the EU and of NATO. We felt it was going too slow!
 
At that time, back in 1999 and 2000, no one expected that only two years later, this goal would be achieved.
 
But it was!
 
And I don't think I will ever forget the words of President Bush, when he visited Vilnius after the historic NATO summit in Prague in November 2002.
 
I was there on the City Hall Square with thousands of happy Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians.
 
And it was freezingly cold - but we felt warm. Not least because of the words that were spoken.
 
The US President promised us that there would be no more Munichs. And no more Yaltas. "The long night of fear, uncertainty and loneliness is over“, the President said.
 
And we certainly all sensed that the long night of fear was over.
We knew that a new day of certainty and companionship was dawning in the Baltic Sea region.
 
Only a few weeks later, the Danish EU Presidency finished the EU negotiations with the candidate countries. Finally, all 10 candidate countries were being welcomed and years of hard work and uncertainty fully recognised.
 
Yes, we have come along way in Europe during the last 14 years. And that is good news for the Baltic Sea countries.
 
But the enlargement of the EU and of NATO goes hand in hand with the integration of the Baltic Sea region.
 
We cannot stop here!
 
I therefore take this opportunity to envision the Baltic Sea region as a frontrunner in the global economy. I believe it is realistic.
 
What makes this region so special is not least the combination of three factors: Integration, innovation and transformation.
 
By combining integration with the forces of innovation and transformation, the Baltic Sea region is the most dynamic growth region in Europe. Partly because, here "New Europe" meets "Old Europe". And be careful not to neglect this fact.
 
I know that reactions were swift and harsh - over the division of the European continent into "Old Europe" and "New Europe". It touched a sensitive nerve for many.
 
However, the mix of new and old democracies, of mature and emerging markets, of established structures and new alliances, has in the past decade been a reality for us in the Baltic Sea region.
 
It has proved to be a strength - and not a weakness!
 
The Baltic Sea countries must now show what this encounter of "New Europe" and "Old Europe" really is about.
We must show how to bring these forces together and how to create the best ground for their success.
 
We must become a role model for other regions to follow.
That will be the top priority of Baltic Development Forum in 2003 and that is why we have called our 5th annual summit: "New Europe Meets Old Europe: The Baltic Sea region as a Global Frontrunner".
 
This title is more relevant today, than we ever imagined it would be.
 
A new world order is being created right as we speak.
 
The opportunity of transforming power relations from competition to interaction and cooperation is real.
 
However, at the moment only few seem to seize the opportunity of moving from competition to interaction and cooperation.
 
It seems that many countries haven't realised that the new threats from terrorists and their likes, is just as horrifying and genuine as was the threat of the Soviet Union's Red Army.
 
It seems that not all democratic countries have realised that what we need to do, is to recreate a larger version of the Western alliance of the Cold War, in response to the new threats we face.
 
Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland are among those countries which know that democratic countries have to stand together to meet the threats we face today.
 
Another country is the Czech Republic. I would like to quote the outgoing President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel. Recently, in an interview with two Latvian journalists from the newspaper Diena, President Havel said:
 
"In terms of this simplified global division, I think the East could have given the West far more than it has. The East could have send a message of warning to the West about the dangers of what the East has experienced".
I agree with President Havel. I believe countries like Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland remember history all too well to hesitate when threats from terror or authoritarian regimes emerges.
 
They know the many faces of terrorism.
 
They know what the consequences of tolerating terrorism can be.
And they know that the European peace integration must be anchored, security wise, in an alliance with the United States.
 
As I see it, the task is to get all the Baltic Sea countries to completely overcome the historical restraints, which hinder the composition of a new cooperation in a new European and Atlantic scope.
 
It is time that the EU countries learn from the candidate countries!
 
The letter of support from the eight European leaders – and the later statement from the “Vilnius-10” group of Central- and Eastern European countries - marked a milestone in completing this task.
 
I am therefore confident that the Baltic Sea region can turn into one of the major regional players in the new world order – very much in line with Vaclav Havel’s reflections.
 
I believe integration, innovation, and transformation – is what it will take to consolidate this potential - along with the will to act and coordinate.
 
As for the business community, I would like to say: You have already made history in our region!
 
Again - integration, innovation, and transformation has helped the region's business leaders. However, without real leadership and brave visions, you would never have come this far.
 
The main challenge, in order to maintain momentum, is to create various clusters of excellence.
 
I do have to stress, though, that we have some hard work in front of us, in order to become a region of excellence and a global frontrunner.
 
In the EU member countries major reforms are required. If we don't meet this challenge, we all know that we will be losing behind and eventually lose out in the global economy.
 
In a country like Latvia you need a much more focussed national development strategy. You need better law enforcement and improved business ethics.
Another important issue is our education system. One of the reasons that the development in a country like Ireland has improved so much during the last 20 years, is not just the EU membership - but also focussed and considerable investments in the educational system.
 
On a regional level, we also need to improve the transport infrastructure and to cooperate and coordinate better in various sectors and industries.
Only by identifying our common interest - and coordinate our efforts - do we stand a chance in the global economy.
 
The participants at the 4th annual Baltic Development Forum Summit identified three potential major clusters in our region: the ITC cluster, the biotech cluster and the energy cluster.
 
To begin with, we have to develop these three clusters - although more will have to follow.
 
At last year's summit, our focus was on developing the biotech cluster. However, developing the biotech sector must include safeguarding the human dimension. Therefore, we will broaden discussions this year by focusing on the health sector as a whole.
 
The ITC sector is closely connected to the development of the human dimension of the region and is of utmost importance for the socio-economic growth.
 
The ITC is a driver of growth and development. Our other specialist theme this year will therefore be the ITC sector.
 
Baltic Development Forum intends to focus on how to restore confidence in the ITC sector and develop the ITC sector in order to secure investments. Only by restoring confidence and improving investments will the region be able to develop a globally competitive ITC cluster. That’s our wish and indeed a pragmatic vision.
 
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
 
Current EU members as well as candidate countries have daunting tasks ahead of them in order to transform the region into a coherent area of excellence both in politics, business and academia.
 
In order to meet this challenge, the region needs to establish public-private partnerships or networks in order to co-ordinate across sectors and borders.
 
Baltic Development Forum has proven to be the forum where one can establish public-private partnerships to do just that.
 
And we will continue our efforts in Riga this October.
 
Thank you!