FM Paet: We care about who invests in Estonia

Though his words may not be believed by all in the region, Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Paet says Estonia tries to avoid foreign investment on her soil which is politically connected. When participating in the debate on Estonian foreign policy in the Estonian parliament, Paet noted that the possible effect of foreign investments on Estonia’s security is on the agenda, referring to the fears that Russian capital has attempted to influence political decision-making in the Baltic States.

Paet said the state must pay careful attention to the energy and infrastructure sectors, the two most directly connected to security. “Each case needs to be handled separately, but often the real source of the investment is not really known as the homeland of the investor is not the whole truth,” he noted.

Many foreign businessmen aren’t sure what to believe about the current government’s feeling toward foreign investment. Some foreign businessmen (perhaps conspiracy theorists? perhaps those with superior market intelligence?) believe the current government actively courts Russian investment while discouraging others. Some believe that the government is discouraging all foreign investment since Estonia has no labor force to speak of. Most, however, seem to believe that the current government is rudderless when it comes to foreign investment policy. And most would agree with the words of an industrialist recently quoted here, Estonia is “less inviting” than it used to be.