“Digital identity is one of the cornerstones of the digital economy. It was confirmed in Davos by both the heads of international economic organisations as well as major corporations. Estonia has been building a digital society for 20 years and has developed e-services that rely on digital identity. It is precisely what makes us stand out among other countries and we are expected to come up with solutions and contribute to the development of the new generation of digital identity,” noted Ratas.
The Prime Minister emphasised that a digital society can only be built on openness and trust, and for this, e-services must be secure and there must be specific rules for the processing of data.
“Estonia has done a lot in the field of legislation; we are flexible, fast and forward-looking. Many global corporations have noticed it, like ABB, Telia and Royal Phillips, who are interested in cooperation in innovative fields like digital medicine or artificial intellect. However, the city of Fukuoka in Japan, which is noteworthy for its number of start-ups, is also looking for cooperation opportunities with the Estonian start-up community. I hope that the meeting in Davos will result in tangible business contacts that bring more foreign investors to Estonia and open doors for Estonian enterprises abroad,” said the Prime Minister.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a global non-profit organisation promoting public–private partnerships, which is engaged with shaping a better future and focuses on breakthrough technologies and facilitating their adoption.
Estonia started looking for cooperation opportunities with WEF around two years ago. WEF has invited Estonia to join the initiative “Shaping the Future of the Digital Economy and Society”, participate in the annual meeting in Davos, contribute to the work of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and last autumn Prime Minister Jüri Ratas was invited to join their community of European Young Leaders.
In Davos, Ratas took part in discussions related to the future and the performance of the global economy and meets with both the representatives of companies who have made foreign investments into Estonia, as well as potential future foreign investors, including the heads of Telia Company, Carlsberg A/S, ABB, Royal Philips, Alibaba, AT&T and Mitsubishi Motors. Davos also provided the opportunity for face-to-face meetings with the heads of states and governments. Ratas had longer meetings with his colleagues from Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and the Czech Republic.