"... We should use the assets our work has earned to make new and clever things, not try to do the same things all over again. Cheap labour does not bring wealth. That’s the long and the short of it. If we look at successful countries, we can always see the private sector’s large contribution to innovation, research, new ideas and solutions...." (Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia at the Festive Concert Assembly dedicated to the 90th Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic of Estonia 24 February 2008)

"...We need to build a basis for economy that no longer has the asset of cheap labour, but has instead the asset of brain potential and efficient use of the latest technology. Estonia is capable of reorganising her economy; we did it once, when restoring our statehood, and in a much more complicated situation...."(Dear people of Estonia home and abroad! Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of the Republic, New Year Address 2008, 31 December 2007)