The Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City

Memories create a journey you can always return to.

Explore a destination where traditional beauty melts seamlessly into modern luxury. Where spacious suites incorporate sleek lines, classic marble, and wood finishes. Where cuisine nods to the Mediterranean coastline, and where more than 17,000 sqft of newly redesigned event space can reflect your vision. This is the past, present, and future wrapped into one distinctive Arlington hotel that remains focused on the safety and needs of its guests. ritzacarlton.com/pentagoncity

MAY - JUNE 2022

Diplomatic

HIS EXCELLENCY KRISTJAN PRIKK AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF ESTONIA TO THE UNITED STATES

JAMAICA SUN, SEA AND SAND

INTERCONTINENTAL WILLARD WASHINGTON, D.C.

DIPLOMATIC CONNECTIONS’ INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT APPRECIATION RECEPTION©

TO CONTACT AN ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE CALL: 202.536.4810

EMAIL: info@diplomaticconnections.com

APARTMENTS, CONDOMINIUMS and HOUSING The Ame of DC – Washington, DC 57 NOVEL South Capitol Washington, DC 58 Oakwood Suites & Studios Dupont Circle Washington, D C 59 One United Nations Park - New York INSIDE FRONT COVER through 5, 60 & BACK COVER Residences on The Avenue – Washington, DC 61 RiverPoint, DC 62 The APARTMENTS at City Center 62

AUTOMOTIVE - CARS and LIMOUSINE SERVICES International and Diplomatic Sales Program Admiral Leasing 65 BMW Corporate 67 MINI Corporate 66

EDUCATION Academy of Thought and Industry 71 Army and Navy Academy - Carlsbad, CA 72 & 73 Dwight Global Online School 75 Edmund Burke School 77 Guidepost Montessori 71 International Academy New York 77 Lyceum Kennedy New York – French American School 77 Nord Anglia International School 79 Randolph-Macon Academy 76 Think Global School 80 Wetherby-Pembridge School - New York 81

HOSPITAL & MEDICAL CLINIC Cleveland Clinic 10 & 11

HOTELS, DINING and ACCOMMODATIONS AKA White House 83 AKA New York 83 The Benjamin New York 84 Capitol Hill Hotel 88 The Concordia Hotel 90 & 91 Conrad New York Midtown 87 Conrad Washington, DC 86 Courtyard Alexandria, Pentagon South 88 The Darcy Washington, DC 85 The Dupont Circle Doyle Collection, Washington, DC 92 EVEN Hotels Midtown East – New York 47 Fairmont Washington, DC 93 Hampton Inn Downtown Convention Center, Washington, DC 88 Hilton Garden Inn Washington, DC/Georgetown Area 88 Hotel Washington 94 Hyatt Place Georgetown/West End 88 InterContinental Cleveland Clinic 10 & 11 InterContinental Houston – Medical Center 46 InterContinental New York Barclay 34 InterContinental San Francisco 46 InterContinental Washington, D C - The Wharf 47 The Langham New York, Fifth Avenue 95 LOTTE New York Palace 96 Madera Hotel DC 97 The Mayflower Hotel 98 The Peninsula Chicago 99 Residence Inn Greenbelt, Maryland 88 The Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City 7 Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Baltimore, MD 103 Royal Sonesta Washington, DC 102 St Gregory Hotel – Washington, DC 88 St Regis Washington, DC 100 The Ven Embassy Row 101 Willard InterContinental Washington, DC 35

INSURANCE SAHOURI 105

SECURITY SERVICES The Palatin Group 107

FEATURED ARTICLES

ESTONIA – to the White House

HIS EXCELLENCY KRISTJAN PRIKK, Ambassador of Estonia to the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Diplomatic Connections’ International Diplomat Appreciation

Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Dear International Reader:

First, our thoughts remain with the people of Ukraine. It’s imperative to remember those who continue to be afflicted. The Ukrainian population remains in great need. The inconceivable and incomprehensible hardship they continue to experience requires a call to action for those of us who can help. The Abundance International, Inc., Ukrainian Orphans’ Fund is still accepting donations; they are an IRS-registered 501(c)3 non-profit. Here is their website: www.AbundanceInternational.org. These orphanages care for and assist children in some of the severest circumstances of great distress and austerity.

In this edition of Diplomatic Connections, we had the privilege of interviewing H.E. Kristjan Prikk, Ambassador of Estonia

to the United States.

His career has been in diplomacy and defense, vacillating between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense. He could easily be referred to as an official Washingtonian, maintaining “three foreign postings – all of them at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C.”

Estonia is one of the three Baltic States; unquestionably a region of critical geography. It enjoys the advantages of being a member of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, better known as NATO. The United States and Estonia celebrate 100 years of successful diplomatic relations in 2022. Half of those years were shadowed by Soviet occupation; however, Ambassador Prikk refers to this annexation as “forcibly established and always illegitimate.” Thus, making the aforementioned U.S.-Estonia diplomatic relations not only possible but quite remarkably expedient. Their mutually beneficial, well-established ties deeply rooted in the United States via the robust and steadfast presence of their respective representatives working within our country, even during World War II and the Cold War, auspiciously forged a solid, significant, and essential alliance.

Although Prikk had his feet firmly implanted in the foreign ministry, he enrolled in the Army War College of the United States after his first Washington posting. This skillfully prepared him for a dual career also in defense. The curriculum provided a pertinent platform to aptly learn about our nation while simultaneously offering a geopolitical perspective to the American students looking from a lens “of a small Baltic state that was once part of the Soviet Union and had now become independent.” His goal was to illuminate the gravity and relevance of being, although small, a nation adjacent to the then Soviet Union, now Russia, while successfully proving to be of considerable geo-strategic and consequential importance.

Diplomatic Connections would like to formally thank Shannon Schneider of IHG Hotels & Resorts along with Sofia Vandaele, General Manager; Greg Murphy, Director of Specialty Markets & Luxury Sales; and Gabriella Nardoni, Event Manager - all of the beautifully refined and elegantly luxurious InterContinental New York Barclay for their appreciated and respected partnership in hosting our most recent Diplomatic Connections’ International Diplomat Appreciation Reception in New York City. The Barclay can most certainly and genuinely boast about their Grand Ballroom spanning nearly 5,000 sq. ft. of unobstructed, gloriously vast space! Even better yet, it’s just steps away from the United Nations as well as many Missions and Consulates standing at the ready to host your delegation and/or National Day. If you would like to have an event at the InterContinental New York Barclay, contact Greg Murphy at: Greg.Murphy@ihg.com or at another IHG Hotel, either locally or anywhere in the world, contact Shannon Schneider at: shannon.schneider@ihg.com

Diplomatic Connections will be hosting another trade show reception in the Washington, D.C. vicinity on October 3, 2022, at The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City. If you would like to attend as a member of the international community or purchase exhibit space, please send your inquiries to: dparker@DiplomaticConnections.com

Sincerely,

Dawn Parker Publisher