Mr. Chairman, thank you.

Let me first say that while Estonia is here as an ''Observer'', Estonian peace-keeping troops have been here as participans for almost five years. The basis of stability in Southeast Europe lies in the success of the region to itself create a viable economy. Human rights will be respected only when people believe they have a vested interest in economic well-being.

Estonia has been a forefront of the Central European countries in three areas of reform:

1. Currency reform, where our model has been successfully implemented in three other countries in the region.

2. Privatization, where Estonia's non-voucher approach is universally recognized as the most efficient way to kick-start the economy.

3. Internetization. Estonia is now a leader in all of Europe, demonstrating that any country with a well-thought approach can leap into the hi-tech era.

We believe that our proven approach can be applied with great success in the region. That a country such as Estonia can be successful also gives us greater credibility. Thus, we would offer our expertise to the Stability Pact process and would like to join the Working Table on economic reconstruction, development and cooperation.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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