EMFA, July 15
The first part of the Estonian Foreign Ministry’s development aid project for introducing the Palestinian National Authority to Estonia’s experiences in developing e-government ended earlier this week. Within the framework of the first part of the project, an expert group from the Estonian e-Governance Academy spent last week in Palestine to get an overview of the how Palestine’s new e-government is developing and to establish future forms of co-operation.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that the project came to life thanks to the interest Palestine showed in learning about Estonia’s experiences in developing an e-government. “Using up-to-date information and communication technology solutions will help with establishing essential e-services for citizens, and this will help the establishment of good and transparent governing standards,” Paet emphasised, saying that good governance is a requirement for the development of a nation. “This first co-operation project creates a good basis and opportunities for future co-operation projects focused on modernising Palestine’s public sector,” he added.

The expert group that spent last week in Palestine included Arvo Ott, Liia Hänni and Hannes Astok. “The next step is for the Palestinian Authority to make several strategic decisions regarding information and communication technology infrastructure as well as the development of e-services for citizens,” said Hannes Aastok upon returning from Palestine. “We met Palestinian government officials and representatives from IT firms who felt a sincere interest in how relations between the public and private sectors are arranged in Estonia to support the development of this essential sector,” said Astok.

The project for introducing Estonia’s e-experiences will continue in September with the second part, which will entail 20 directing officials from the Palestinian National Authority coming to Estonia for a week-long training at the e-Governance Academy.

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