Africa-Press – Botswana. Estonia is committed to sharing its digital know-how with international and likeminded partners such as Botswana.
Speaking at the state dinner in honour of President Advocate Duma Boko, President of Estonia, Mr Alar Karis said his government was happy to share with Botswana the experience of a digital state in order to jointly promote innovation.
He said Botswana had shown remarkable leadership in sustainable development through managing its natural resources and embracing digital transformation.
“Botswana’s vision for digital future resonate deeply with the e-Estonia drive, therefore Estonia is honoured to support Botswana’s ambition to build a smarter, more connected future,” he said. He affirmed Estonian companies’ interests in developing cooperation with Botswana partners in the field of digital technologies, highlighting that it was worth noting that Estonian companies already had practical experience in Botswana.
“There is a company called Nortal, which has developed digital solutions with the Botswana Unified Revenue Service as well as Baltic Computer Systems, which is currently implementing a Team Europe Initiative on digitalisation launched last month by contributing to digital skills training programmes,” he said.
He also said Estonia was also keen to share experiences in helping Botswana build-up Botswana’s e-tax system.
President Karis highlighted the potential for the two nations to build on this experience since Estonia’s digital expertise could support public sector modernisation and contribute to Botswana’s efforts toward economic diversification.
“We look forward to strengthening the cooperation between our countries and exploring new partnerships in digital innovation, business development and knowledge exchange,” he said.
He also commended Estonia-Botswana Business Seminar organisers adding that such events played an important role in strengthening the ties between countries and opened new avenues for business and digital cooperation.
“Estonia and Botswana are sparsely populated but agile countries, internationally recognised for their strong economic freedom and competitiveness. It means that we have a lot in common,” he said.
President Karis said Estonia was ranked among the top countries in Europe in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, reflecting its commitment to open markets, strong property rights and limited government intervention.
He said Estonia and Botswana were also part of democracy loving nations, which respected the United Nation charter and the rules based international orders.
Similarly, President Boko commended the Estonian government for the invite emphasising that the historic visit marked a new chapter in Botswana-Estonia relations.
He said he was deeply inspired by the innovation, efficiency and inclusive digital ecosystem Estonia had built and took home valuable lessons and opportunities for collaboration that would support the national digitalisation agenda and broader development goals.
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