Aligned In Purpose: How Estonia And The UAE Are Collaborating On Technology That Serves Their People

Innovation has long been at the heart of Estonia’s national story, and today, that vision is finding common ground in the UAE.

United by a belief that technology should serve people and societies, the two countries are deepening their collaboration across sectors from artificial intelligence (AI) and healthcare to defense and digital governance.

This shared vision came into sharp focus at this year’s edition of GITEX GLOBAL, where Estonia presented its digital ecosystem as well as the expanding role of its enterprises within the UAE’s technology landscape.

Speaking to Inc. Arabia, HE Liisa-Ly Pakosta, Estonia’s Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, and Fatoumata Tall, Export Adviser at Enterprise Estonia, reflected on how their country’s innovation model—rooted in private entrepreneurship and public trust—is now intersecting with the UAE’s ambitions to build a future powered by technology that serves its people.

“There are few countries in the world that are fully taking it seriously to offer their people the best services in the world,” Pakosta said. “The UAE and Estonia are twinning in this, because we both believe that technological progress [must] serve our people. It is to help governments to offer the absolutely best services to our people, to our economies, and also to protect nature, to protect resources, and to give services to everybody; nobody is left behind.”

For her part, Tall pointed out that the alignment between Estonia and the UAE is reflected in the partnerships that have already taken shape on the ground. Across sectors like defense, education, healthcare, and more, she highlighted that Estonia’s innovation ecosystem is finding strong and like-minded partners in the UAE. “The UAE and Estonia have been collaborating in the tech space for several years now,” Tall said. “Tech is literally where we meet.”

Check out the full video for more of what Pakosta and Tall had to say. 

This article was funded by European Union - NextGenerationEU.