Baltic States – CIS, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Legislation, Technology

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The seminar, aimed at the Eastern Partnership countries, is being organized by the Estonian Centre of Eastern Partnership in cooperation with the e-Governance Academy and the European Commission.

According to Foreign Minister Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, e-governance can provide the Eastern Partners with valuable solutions for challenges in public administration when reforming the country. “E-governance helps to make the political system more transparent and also improves the quality and efficiency of public services,” Pentus-Rosimannus said. “The prerequisite of a strong and well-functioning e-government is political commitment and desire,” the Foreign Minister said, expressing hope that the e-governance seminar will help in finding the right direction to achieve solutions. “E-governance is also a useful tool for implementing the Association Agreement between the Eastern partners and EU,” she added.

On the subject of Estonia’s experience, Foreign Minister Pentus-Rosimannus said that the use of e-solutions has been an important innovation for the country from the standpoint of competitiveness and economic wellbeing. She stressed that when developing e-government, it is very important to pay attention to issues related to cyber security and electronic identity. “Trust in e-solutions begins when a secure solution is guaranteed,” the Foreign Minister added.

The Foreign Minister confirmed that Estonia will continue to support the Eastern Partners in the field of e-governance by sharing its experiences. “We are initiating several projects in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, where we are offering our expertise and introducing our experience in building up e-government,” the Foreign Minister said.

The opening of the seminar was attended by Georgia’s Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani, Belarus’s Information Technologies and Communications Minister Dmitry Shedko, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Communications and High Technologies Elmir Velizadeh and Moldova’s Deputy Minister of Information Technology and Communications Vitalie Tarlev. The seminar is an event preceding the government conference in Tallinn on May 12-13.