ANKARA

Estonia's prime minister on Tuesday hailed Ukraine for its technological prowess even during the war.

"Ukraine's experience, defending itself against aggression, is also showing us how openness and responsiveness reinforce resilience," Kaja Kallas said in her opening speech at the Tallinn Digital Summit.

She recalled that Kyiv has been able to enlist volunteers from across the world "for everything, from donations to cyber defense."

"Ukraine has out-innovated Russia, fielding entirely new weapon systems while enlisting data and connectivity to improve the effectiveness of the existing weapons," Kallas added. "And Ukraine is showing us all how it is possible to keep the state running and deliver services online even during the full-scale war."

The Estonian premier, in this context, stressed the importance of collaboration and explained: "Right now, this means supporting Ukraine until the victory with weapons financing and know-how, but also bringing Ukraine into the collaborative formats that we have, NATO, European Union, and others."

Estonia, 'frontrunner in the digital space'

European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, for his part, hailed Estonia for being a "frontrunner in the digital space for many years."

He also thanked Estonia for its efforts in terms of cooperation against the war in Ukraine, and leading the 27 member states of the EU for an immediate reaction.

North Macedonia to establish digitization agency

North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski announced that his government was in the process of establishing a digitization agency.

That agency's primary task will be "to consolidate efforts for a fast and efficient digital transformation," Kovachevski said.

He added that the agency will be dedicated to the four pillars, including cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, software solution, and a focus on the academic part and the necessary trainings.

Tallinn Digital Summit 2023

The annual summit in the Estonian capital gathers experts from the digital sector, as well as government officials, and representatives from the private sector and international organizations.

The first summit was held in 2017.