TALLINN'S BFIF FY07 FINAL REPORT

UNCLAS TALLINN 000745

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EEB/CBA AND EUR/NB

REF A) STATE 37473 B) STATE 87036 C) TALLINN 537

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD BEXP AMGT ABUD AFIN EINV EN

SUBJECT: TALLINN'S BFIF FY07 FINAL REPORT



1. Summary: Embassy Tallinn received USD 2,500 from the
Business Facilitation Incentive Fund in 2007 for FSC
Helsinki Shadow Training and an U.S. Automobile Industry
promotion project. Post used 959.67 for the U.S. car
promotion project (reported in ref C) and 477.50 USD for
Helsinki Shadow training. There are USD 1,062.83 unused
FY07 funds. End Summary.


2. Reene Sepp, Embassy Tallinn's Econ/Commercial
Assistant, visited the Foreign Commercial Service (FCS)
office in Helsinki on October 11-12 for 'Shadow Training.'
During her visit, FCS Helsinki provided Ms. Sepp with an
update on changes in FCS services, the status of Tallinn's
partner post relationship with Helsinki, and new U.S.
Department of Commerce programs such as Invest in America.
The shadowing training program gave Ms. Sepp a valuable
opportunity to discuss these issues at length with her
counterparts in Helsinki. This training will enhance
Post's ability to assist U.S. companies to establish local
partners, promote U.S. exports, and increase tourism
between Estonia and the United States. It also increased
our Econ/Commercial Assistant's proficiency with FCS
applications (as FCS does not provide training in Tallinn
on Department of Commerce systems updates.) Post leveraged
the funds so that on October 12, our Commercial Assistant
could also take part in an information sharing meeting
between Pol/Econ Sections of Embassy Tallinn and Embassy
Helsinki.


3. Costs related to the visit:

Lodging, M&I USD 397.34
Ferry ticket USD 80.16
Total: USD 477.50

Local transportation costs were covered by Post funds.


4. Back-up documentation on expenditures will be faxed to
Gale Gray, EEB/EX, as requested in Ref A.


5. Point of Contact at Post: Political/Economic Officer
Robert Hollister, ph: 372-668-8107, hollisterrm@state.gov.
Post appreciates EEB/CBA and EEB/EX's support for these
projects.

DECKER