Enterprise Estonia, the state-run agency responsible for promoting Estonia abroad and attracting investment, on 28 October opened a representative office in New York City.
The representative office was opened by the Estonian prime minister, Jüri Ratas, while the opening speech was delivered by Penny Abeywardena, the New York City’s commissioner for international affairs. The office, tasked to promote Estonian exports and strengthen economic ties with the United States, is led by James S. York – a New York native who has also lived and worked in Estonia and knows the country very well.
According to York, New York as a global business centre is ideally located to host Estonia’s business interests in the east coast of the US. He said in a statement that, in addition to the Estonian IT and technology sectors, many traditional industries, such as the food, wood and defence businesses, are also interested in exporting to the Atlantic Coast.
The door is open
“I have already mediated many contacts and brought the right people together with Estonian companies, and I am aware of several deals being finalised. My contacts are public and the door is open,” York said, encouraging Estonian companies interested in the American market to get in touch.
Enterprise Estonia has export advisers in 14 markets – Singapore, India, China, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, the UK, the US and Dubai, the UAE. The agency said that in 2018, over 750 companies were served by the export advisers. According to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, export sales of these companies increased by EUR61 million, compared with 2017.
The Enterprise Estonia office is located at the Estonian Consulate General in New York.
Cover: Penny Abeywardena, the New York City’s commissioner for international affairs, delivering a speech at the opening of Enterprise Estonia’s office in New York. Photos by Eleri Ever/courtesy of Enterprise Estonia.
