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The President of the Republic opened a Europe-wide conference10.06.2002
President Arnold Rüütel this morning welcomed the participants of the International Association of Science Parks' European Division Conference taking place in Tallinn.
In his opening words to the conference, the President noted that Estonia's rapid transition to the market economy had been possible partly due to rapid development and expansion of new technologies, and partly due to foreign investments. At the same time, according to the Head of State, we cannot just remain consumers of technologies and innovative solutions worked out elsewhere in the world.
''In order to survive in international competition it is inescapable that one produced more and more innovation himself,'' President Rüütel said. ''An enterprise operating in the conditions of market economy and hard competition does need innovation. I even would say that it is a matter of life and death.''
The president emphasized that developing enterprises needed also well-qualified workforce. ''For this reason, the employment policy of an economy of rapidly developing structure should not be targeted at keeping as many jobs as possible, but at enabling people to find a new job as quickly as possible.''
However, as noted by the President, in an age where competition had become global, such general measures as creating favourable business environment and training suitable workforce alone were not sufficient any more. Nowadays, science and technology parks having a particular importance for supporting new innovative enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises had become an integral part of purposeful innovation policy. ''It is extremely vital that as many enterprises as possible had the chance of putting their ideas into effect. That will create preconditions for people to earn a more equal share of benefits of an economy based on knowledge,'' President Rüütel said.
Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, June 10, 2002
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