At the joint visit of the parliamentary delegations of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to the United States House of Representatives, the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, expressed cross-party support to these countries.
During the first joint visit of the parliamentary delegations of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to the United States Congress, the main focus was on the issues relating to the security of the region, dealing with the provocative behaviour of Russia and the practical implementation of the Three Seas Initiative.
At the meetings with Pelosi and the leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the representatives of Estonia, Keit Pentus-Rosimannus and Andres Sutt, focused on future cooperation in the sphere of cyber security and resisting influence operations.
US interest in Estonia’s experience in cyber security
“Continuation of the US defence assistance was the central topic at all meetings. The continuing support of both the Democrats and the Republicans is important,” Pentus-Rosimannus, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian parliament, said.
“The influential members of the House and the Senate who participated in the meetings had a strong interest in Estonia’s experience in cyber security and increasing the awareness of cyber threats. We would certainly like to further develop our relations in that field.”
At the meetings in the Congress, Pentus-Rosimannus and Sutt also introduced the Three Seas Initiative and its summit that will be held in Tallinn.
The US to contribute billions to the Three Seas Initiative
“The Three Seas Initiative is important for better connections between the countries of North and South Europe, and for providing an alternative to the politically targeted investments of Russia and China. We are very happy that the USA has decided to contribute a billion dollars to the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund,” Sutt, who is the chair of the Estonia-USA Parliamentary Group, noted.
The Three Seas Initiative, also known as the Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea Initiative, is a forum of twelve states in the European Union, located in Central and Eastern Europe. The combined area connects the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. The initiative aims to create a regional dialogue on a variety of questions affecting the member states.
Besides meeting with Pelosi, the members of the Estonian parliament also had meetings with leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Risch and Bob Menendez; the chair of the Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment Subcommittee of the House, Bill Keating; the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff; and a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Shimkus.
Cover: Pelosi speaking at the United States Department of Labor on Equal Pay Day in 2015 (Wikipedia).
