Welcoming Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal emphasized that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit is a historic visit, the first time a high-ranking Vietnamese leader has visited Estonia since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, considering this a new impetus for the two countries to deepen bilateral relations and expand cooperation in many other areas where both sides have strengths and needs.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his pleasure to visit the beautiful and hospitable country of Estonia, a model of innovation, startups, digital government, and digital citizens in Europe, and thanked the Estonian side for giving the Prime Minister and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam a warm and respectful welcome.
The Prime Minister conveyed the greetings of General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to Prime Minister Kristen Michal as well as senior Estonian leaders and affirmed that Vietnam always remembers Estonia's support and assistance for the past struggle for national liberation and in Vietnam's current national construction and development.
In the context of profound changes in the world and region, as two countries sharing historical and cultural similarities, strengthening and renewing the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Estonia is extremely important, for the benefit of the people of each country, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
At the talks, the two Prime Ministers were pleased to announce the development achievements of each country in recent times. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that in the process of building and developing the country, Vietnam has focused on strongly implementing strategic breakthroughs in institutions, infrastructure and human resources, in which the development of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation are identified as the top important breakthroughs to bring the country to breakthrough development and prosperity in the new era.
Impressed by the remarkable progress that has made Estonia one of the leading countries in digital transformation and e-government, the Prime Minister suggested that Estonia strengthen cooperation, exchange information, and share valuable lessons on digital transformation, digital economy, building e-government, developing digital infrastructure, building Vietnam's big data center, training high-quality human resources, etc., thereby contributing to better serving the Vietnamese people and promoting sustainable socio-economic development.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal highly appreciated the achievements in socio-economic development and improving all aspects of people's lives that Vietnam has achieved in recent times, in which Vietnam has made great strides in e-government and digital transformation.
Agreeing with the proposals of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister Kristen Michal affirmed that Estonia wishes to strengthen cooperation in all fields with Vietnam, is ready to stand side by side with Vietnam in the process of digital transformation, innovation, and strengthen cooperation in science - technology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, education and training.
The two leaders affirmed that the two countries need to support and assist each other for mutual development, thereby further tightening the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation. Accordingly, in terms of politics, the two sides affirmed that they will continue to promote and exchange delegations at high and all levels to consolidate the political foundation and mutual understanding as well as expand cooperation in many other fields.
Regarding economy, trade and investment, the two Prime Ministers also agreed to create favorable conditions for businesses from both countries to invest and do business in the two countries. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his hope that Estonia will play the role of an effective bridge to help Vietnam's exports gain deeper access to the Nordic and EU markets. The two sides agreed to enhance people-to-people exchanges, especially tourism and culture, through organizing promotions and participating in activities held in each country.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that Estonia create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community living and working in Estonia to continue contributing to the socio-economic development of the host country and serve as a bridge between the two peoples.
The two leaders had in-depth discussions on the world and regional situation, including the world economic situation, support for free trade and the need to reform multilateral institutions towards greater efficiency. The two sides agreed to closely coordinate, consult and support each other on international and regional issues, at multilateral forums such as the United Nations and the ASEAN-EU framework.
Discussing regional security issues, the two sides agreed on the need for international solidarity and respect for the rule of law and the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam is ready to join the international community in peacekeeping efforts.
Regarding maritime and ocean issues, including the East Sea, the two sides support freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea on the basis of respecting the interests of coastal countries in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), peacefully resolving disputes on the basis of international law, and not using or threatening to use force.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh invited Estonia to send a high-level delegation to attend the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime to be held in Hanoi in October 2025, chaired by Vietnam, as well as invited Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal to visit Vietnam soon and assigned the two countries' Foreign Ministries to arrange the visit. Prime Minister Kristen Michal happily accepted the invitation.
At the end of the talks, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing and exchange of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia and the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in digital transformation and digital economy between the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice and Digital Transformation of Estonia.
The two agreements demonstrate a strong commitment to political-diplomatic cooperation and science-technology and innovation.
Prime Minister visits world's leading digital government center in Estonia
On the morning of June 6, in the capital Tallinn, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his delegation visited and worked at the e-Estonia Briefing Centre - a symbol of the world's leading digital government.
After declaring independence in 1991, Estonia - a small Baltic country with a population of only about 1.3 million people - has become a global model of national digital transformation.
Facing many institutional, financial and infrastructure challenges, lacking resources and wanting to shorten the development gap with Western European countries, Estonia has chosen comprehensive digitalization as its strategic development path. With the motto "digital by default" - all public services should be digital by default, the country has gradually built a complete digital society.
In this journey, e-Estonia, established in 2009, serves as a smart technology showcase, a vivid window to the international community on Estonia’s digital achievements and vision; a place for dialogue, consultation, experience sharing and partner connections on e-government, digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and innovation. The centre contributes to building the Estonian national brand as a “smart digital powerhouse”, thereby attracting global investment, cooperation and talent.
The Center's roles include: Introducing Estonia's digital government model to international visitors; promoting digital diplomacy and national branding; creating a platform for cooperation between the public and private sectors, between Estonia and global partners in the digital technology field; connecting Estonian technology companies to international markets.
Ms. Triin Joasaare delivered a welcoming speech to the Prime Minister on his visit to the Center - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
The exhibition at the Center focuses on core elements of Estonia's digital model, with key topics including digital infrastructure, electronic identification (e-ID), online public services, cybersecurity, global digital citizenship (e-Residency), digital transformation in education, healthcare, justice, etc.
The digital infrastructure (X-Road) is the backbone of Estonia’s digital government. It is a decentralized integration platform that allows more than 1,000 government agencies and private organizations to exchange data securely and efficiently. All information is encrypted and traceable. X-Road is the reason why Estonia can provide almost 100% of public services online without the need for government agencies.
The country has a declaration form that takes just three minutes and three clicks to complete, said Petra Holm, digital transformation director at the e-Estonia Center. Estonians love filing taxes, considering it a “national sport” and people compete to do it.
However, the government has spent a lot of time convincing people, as well as making great efforts to make people feel comfortable and secure when using online public services, such as through training programs, because when the digital transformation began, the majority of Estonians did not know how to type. "My grandmother was still learning digital skills when she was 80 years old," said Petra Holm.
To date, delegations from governments, businesses, and international organizations from more than 150 countries have come to learn about the e-Estonia model. The center has welcomed thousands of high-ranking leaders, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, presidents of many countries, ministers, and CEOs of technology corporations.
Many countries have learned or implemented elements of Estonia's digital ecosystem, such as Finland and Iceland joining X-Road; South Korea, Japan, and Singapore sending high-level delegations to study the Estonian model; the African Union and developing countries exploring e-ID, e-Residency, and open government.
The e-Estonia Center is expected to continue to serve as an international communication hub on digital transformation, while enhancing cooperation with multilateral organizations, such as the OECD, EU, UNDP, etc.
The Prime Minister and members of the delegation asked many questions to the Estonian side, in which Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the conditions for digital transformation in a country of 1.3 million people will be different from a country of 100 million people like Vietnam, and what advice does the Estonian side have for Vietnam to catch up with Estonia in digital transformation?
Responding to the Prime Minister, the representative of the e-Estonia Center said that there is no big difference between applications, tools and utilities for 1.3 million people and 100 million people. The problem is having good and secure infrastructure, a decentralized data system and easy, user-friendly applications.
Appreciating Estonia's vision, orientation and achievements in digital transformation, the Prime Minister suggested and the e-Estonia Center said it is ready to send a working delegation to Vietnam to share experiences and continue to promote cooperation between the two countries in digital transformation.
According to VGP
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-hoi-dam-voi-thu-tuong-estonia-2408936.html
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