President Karis: Estonia is willing to share its experience in establishing and enhancing e-governance

Aided by members of the Digital Advisory Council, President Alar Karis today introduced Estonia's e-governance services and outlined the country's experiences in building up a digital state to his Maldivian counterpart Dr Mohamed Muizzu.

President Karis remarked that although Estonia is considered one of the most successful countries in the world today for its e-governance solutions, that success was not predestined, but dependent on smart decisions being made by people with a clear vision and both the willingness and ability to recognise the opportunities presented by technology. "It was not some foregone conclusion, 30 years ago, that Estonia would become a global leader in digital technologies," he said. "Things could have turned out very differently. We were simply lucky that there were visionaries among us who made bold, smart decisions that paved the way for e-Estonia. It was more than just luck, of course: education plays a key role in creating and development a digital state, as does trust-based cooperation between the public and private sectors."

The head of state says that going forward, Estonia needs to think about the technologies and digital skills that should be introduced to schools in pursuit of innovations that are necessary for society. "There remains a lot for us to do to preserve our achievements to date, but the main thing is to establish an ecosystem that fosters new ideas and attracts talent from all over the world," he said. "We also need to make the most of every digital innovation we can to support education, health care and the green transition. AI, for instance, has enormous potential to help us achieve our goals."

At a digital roundtable held at the PoCo Pop And Contemporary Art Museum in the Rotermann Quarter, discussion then turned to how Estonia can assist in the adoption of digital technologies in the public and private sectors in the Maldives. President Karis' digital advisors stressed that the interest, trust, involvement and technological readiness of private-sector service providers is critical in building up a digital state.

The Digital Advisory Council comprises IT visionary Linnar Viik, Estonian Start-up Founders Society president Kaidi Ruusalepp and Siim Sikkut, an expert on issues related to the digital state.

Gallery (Aron Urb/Ministry of Foreign Affairs): https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBXXyZ