Today in Tallinn, Estonia, Administrator Samantha Power announced at the 2023 Open Government Partnership Global Summit that Estonia will join USAID’s effort to transform the way citizens in partner countries use e-governance tools to connect with their governments. Together with Ukraine, this collaboration will support the adoption of digital public infrastructure, with the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) providing expert guidance to partner countries that will improve exchanges between operating systems.
Estonia is a global leader in building secure digital public infrastructure through tools like the widely-adopted data exchange platform X-Road and its forthcoming digital government platform mRiik. Ukraine’s Diia platform, which connects more than 19 million Ukranians with more than 120 government services, has positioned Ukraine as a world leader in digital government. USAID is committed to working with a range of partners to help countries model these successes, including by adopting technologies that provide safe, trustworthy, and inclusive public and private services, reduce corruption, and foster citizen engagement in political processes. As part of this commitment, Administrator Power previously announced in May 2023 that USAID would support Colombia, Kosovo, and Zambia accelerate progress in establishing and strengthening their digital public infrastructure.
Today’s announcement about USAID’s collaboration with ESTDEV builds off of USAID’s long-standing partnership with Ukraine to advance the country’s digital transformation.
Starting in 2016, the Government of Ukraine, in close partnership with USAID, laid the groundwork for Diia to become what it is today – through investments in digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity and data privacy, laws and regulations, strengthening and expanding the skills of government officials, and engagement with citizens and civil society. Together with USAID, Ukraine is now sharing this technology with other countries, including the underlying infrastructure, process, systems, and approaches that have made it possible.
