At yesterday’s discussion with leaders of European and African states about possibilities for cooperation, Prime Minister Ratas highlighted the need for intensifying cooperation in the IT area, which would help African countries to develop.

Together with Prime Minister Ratas, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria, Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, and Mostafa Madbouli, Prime Minister of Egypt, participated in the panel. It was chaired by Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum.

According to Ratas, the impressive technological development of African countries offers many opportunities for cooperation with Europe; he thereat considered the sharing of know-how and experience important for making the process of digitalisation sustainable. “Thanks to our e-government experience, Estonia has a lot to offer to African states. Like Estonia, they have the prerequisites to develop into successful e-government,” Ratas said.

Regarding cooperation, the prime minister highlighted the cooperation agreement for developing e governance, which was concluded with the African Union in Abidjan in 2017. Last year, Estonia and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly launched program aimed at contributing to the goals of sustainable development by supporting digital development. According to the prime minister, Estonia also supports the digital development of several African countries through bilateral cooperation in the IT area.

Prime Minister Ratas also attended discussions on the future of the world economy and the role of digital progress.

At meetings with Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda, and Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica, the prime minister discussed bilateral relations and cooperation in IT and international organisations. The prime minister also had meetings with the heads of PayPal, Accenture, and Investor AB.

Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yei0g30r269ayvh/AAAYB2nS3leNqzKKLsvnlPJ4a?dl=0