Tallinn Digital Summit 2024: Ukraine and Estonia create digital future together

This year’s Tallinn Digital Summit, dedicated to discussing key challenges of digital transformation, featured a Global Leadership Fireside Chat: The Estonia-Ukraine Dimension. On the main stage of the Summit, Liisa-Ly Pakosta, Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs of Estonia, and Valeriya Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration, shared their experience of building digital states and emphasised the importance of partnership between the countries.

Estonia is one of the leaders in supporting Ukraine, having already spent more than EUR 550 million to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities. This corresponds to 1.4% of Estonia’s GDP, which is the highest figure in this metric. In addition, Estonia is taking the lead in many international formats of support for Ukraine, such as the IT Coalition and the Drone Coalition.

According to Liisa-Ly Pakosta, Estonia and Ukraine are a prime example of like-minded nations that are truly capable of changing the world. It is not just about coming up with a brilliant idea or solution on one’s own, but also about the ability to study and learn from others' experiences and share your own. By working closely together, the two countries are stronger, complement each other in many ways, and we are an example for the promotion of democracy and freedom.

Since 2019, the Government of Estonia has played a key role in supporting Ukraine’s digital transformation. Ukraine actively uses Estonian experience and IT products. In particular, the Trembita data exchange system is based on the similar Estonian X-Road system. At the end of 2022, Ukraine and Estonia began cooperation on the mRiik pilot project, a mobile application developed on the basis of the Ukrainian Diia. Beta testing was successful, and the level of user satisfaction reached 85%, as the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs of Estonia emphasised in her speech. In the near future, Estonia will launch a new application developed from the collaborative experiences between the countries, specifically building on the mRiik platform.

“Ukraine and Estonia are exemplary in demonstrating how two nations can collaborate to create world-changing digital standards. We are deeply grateful for the partnership, support, and shared experiences. Estonia, as the world’s leading digital nation, has been a steadfast partner and mentor in our digital transformation journey for over five years,” said Valeriya Ionan.

During the Summit, Valeriya Ionan will also take part in a panel discussion on cyber defence and the role of international cooperation in combating cyber threats, as an important track of the partnership with Estonia is the Tallinn Mechanism. This allows for faster engagement of technological assistance and strengthening of cyber resilience. The initiative unites 11 countries, with the Estonian team leading the front office and actively promoting Ukraine's interests within the coalition.

The cooperation between Ukraine and Estonia exemplifies mutual support in digital transformation through the exchange of experience, innovation, and continuous support. Today, both countries are uniting to inspire democracies worldwide to embark on the path of digital development.