USAID ends stint in Estonia

U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Lawrence Taylor read a letter from President Bill Clinton in Tallinn on September 16 at ceremonies officially ending the U.S. Agency for International Development assistance to the country, Western agencies reported. Since 1991, Estonia has received about $30 million for projects supporting the reestablishment of democracy and promoting economic reform and environmental protection. President Lennart Meri and Prime Minister Tiit Vahi expressed thanks for the aid and satisfaction that Estonia is the first East European country considered to have advanced to the point that it no longer needs assistance to create a free market economy.