2003 Press Releases

Ambassador Weiser Stresses New Role of Central Europe

Bratislava, October 22, 2003

In a speech October 21 at the University of Michigan School of Business, U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Ronald Weiser outlined the new role that the countries of Central Europe are playing in the world and told his American audience that business should invest in these countries, especially Slovakia.

"Central European countries have become exporters of democracy and free market capitalism," Ambassador Weiser said in the lecture, which was titled "Central European Transition: Opportunity for American Diplomacy and Business."

Speaking at the university from which he graduated, the Ambassador noted that the transformations in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe give them valuable experience to share with countries going through similar democratic transitions, such as Iraq. At the recent "lessons learned" conference in Baghdad, representatives from Central and Eastern European countries discussed such topics as the importance of transparency in building the trust of the public. "They also said that welcoming foreign participation in the economy does not mean selling off resources, but acquiring management and technical expertise and needed capital to refurbish industries leading to job creation," the Ambassador noted. "They emphasized that the private sector, not the government, knows how to efficiently use resources based on market principles.

"Who better to give Iraq, Afghanistan, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, the Central Asian Republics and other countries going through transition, these and other bits of knowledge about the how to, the problems, the successes and the failures, than the citizens of countries who are so far ahead of them in the transition process and that have gained their knowledge through experience."

Ambassador Weiser quoted Secretary of State Colin Powell's comments to the Iraqi participants at the Baghdad conference about the challenges they face, comments that show the parallels to the Central European transition: ". . . governing officials …now face a critically important task: to free the energy, skills and creativity of the people. Decades of oppression and mismanagement have stunted…economic growth and squandered immense natural bounty, which should have gone into development. "You will be wrestling with such important matters as privatization, private sector development, fiscal policies, the business and investment climate, and how to mobilize public support for reforms. "You will also be taking part in a growing worldwide phenomenon: the push toward freedom--personal freedom, political freedom, and economic freedom."

Turning to economic topics, the Ambassador encouraged his listeners to look at Slovakia when making business decisions. "Three hundred million consumers, which is more than the population of the United States, live in an area that can be covered in one day's truck ride from Slovakia. These people represent incredible future purchasing power as they become upwardly mobile. Although their resources are currently limited, the potential for them to increase their incomes in the near and medium terms is tremendous. In recent years their economic growth has outpaced the West plus they have several decades of pent up demand to satisfy," he said.

But Slovakia and Central Europe should not be looked at simply as potential customers for U.S. products but also as good places for U.S. investment. "Businesses that are not looking at central Europe as a place to invest, especially in Slovakia -- since I believe there is no better place to invest in all of Europe -- do so at their own peril," he said.

"Education levels are quite high in many of these countries, and especially so in the Visegrad-4. Recently, high school aged students from Slovakia placed second in the world in a competition covering math and science. American and other foreign owned businesses in the V-4 praise the quality of their local work forces. For example, Volkswagens made in Slovakia sell for a premium because they are of such high quality, and managers from Whirlpool say that the quality of labor at their plant in Slovakia surpasses that of any of the company's 16 other European facilities. These quality advantages help make the output of American owned companies in these countries more competitive. Today there are more than 125 American companies resident in Slovakia, the smallest of the V-4 countries. Almost all of them are expanding their operations with many of them doubling or more. In addition to Whirlpool, companies with sizable operations include household names such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, U.S. Steel, Delphi, Johnson Controls, Johns Mansville, Pfizer, and many more."

Ambassador Weiser also discussed the imminent entry of Slovakia and other countries into the European Union. "A question that is often asked is why does the U.S. want these countries to join the E.U. The E.U. is a political ally, but it is also an economic competitor," he said. "Having countries join NATO and the E.U. will be good for the U.S. politically and economically because NATO and the E.U. are more than just military and economic clubs. They are communities of shared values. They support honest business dealings and fair competition. These are conditions that are best for businesses and economies to grow and prosper."

Ambassador Weiser concluded by telling his home-state crowd, "While I have enjoyed this job, it is serious business because so much is at stake. People sometimes forget that there is no such thing as relations between countries -- it is relations between people in countries. That is why the Foreign Service is so important in our globalized world."