Prime Minister Ansip: Estonia to support the creation of common digital market in the European Union

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:47:00 +0300

Stenbock House, 8 May 2013 - This evening, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip met with the Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Mr. Torsten Albig. At the meeting, the prime ministers confirmed that cooperation relations are good and acknowledged that the contacts made decades ago have become self-evident, real and mutually beneficial in various fields.

Estonia and Schleswig-Holstein have longstanding and close partnership relations in the areas of the environment, economy and agriculture. In order to fight against organised and drug-related crime, the police organisations cooperate very closely and share their experience. Cultural contacts are actively being promoted too and good twinning relations have been built between twenty or so cities in Estonia and Schleswig-Holstein.

Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein Torsten Albig expressed his interest in Estonia’s e‑services and in cooperation for the development of digital solutions.

Prime Minister Ansip confirmed that Estonia would be very willing to share its knowledge and emphasized at the same time that cross-border digital solutions would make administration notably more efficient in the region. “Estonia as an e-state flagship is interested in the simplified management of public affairs everywhere in Europe and we whole-heartedly support the creation of a common digital market in the European Union,” said Ansip at the meeting.

The issues of the European Union economy and the Union itself were also discussed at the meeting. The prime ministers acknowledged that Estonia and Germany share similar values and positions in several economic issues. Ansip said that the foundations of actual economic growth are structural reforms, prudent economic policy and a moderate sovereign debt.

Photos of the meeting can be viewed here: http://valitsus.ee/et/uudised/pildialbum#2536-1

Prime Minister Ansip: Estonia would be a good export gateway to Europe for Tajikistan

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:40:00 +0300

Dushanbe, 7 May 2013 – At the Estonian-Tajikistani economic forum, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that Estonia could be a good export gateway to Europe for Tajikistan and a distribution centre for goods for the global market. The Prime Minister invited Tajikistan to invest in logistics in Estonia.

“In addition to developing political relations, we are also interested in deepening our economic ties,” said Ansip, adding that Estonia provides suitable investment options in logistics. For example, Tajikistan could place a logistics centre in Estonia to service Tajikistani businesses or build its own terminal in one of the ports. “A liberal business environment, a politically stable European Union member state and the existence of an infrastructure suitable for investments should guarantee favourable conditions for investment,” said Ansip.

Tajikistan’s main export articles are cotton and aluminium, which together account for just over half of Tajikistan’s total exports. Also increasing is the export of dried fruit. Currently, Tajikistan ranks 105th among Estonia’s trading partners, with a total trade volume of just 683,000 euros, all of it accounted for by export. In 2011, the trade volume was even more modest – 219,000 euros, which placed Tajikistan 123rd among Estonia’s trading partners.

Taking into account the increasing domestic demand in Tajikistan, there is potential for developing economic ties in several areas. Transport aside, other possible areas of cooperation between Estonia and Tajikistan include tourism, IT and electronic surveillance equipment.

Tajikistan has an extensive land frontier and an electronic surveillance system would increase the extent of control over important objects, yielding a significant economic effect. For this, the Estonian company Defendec has unique technological solutions already used to a small extent by the Tajikistani border guard. Cooperation with the local border guard could certainly be extended; to this end, the Prime Minister introduced Defendec’s advantages at the business forum and in yesterday’s meetings. Additionally, the Prime Minister and the representative of Defendec have scheduled a high-level meeting with the leaders of the Tajikistani border guard.

To invigorate the modest economic relations, the Prime Minister is accompanied by 15 business delegates, who also attended the business forum. At the forum, the Prime Minister introduced the members of the business delegation and their organisations. The members of the business delegation are: Neinar Seli (Board Member, Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Ain Kaljurand (Chairman of the Board, Port of Tallinn), Katrin Reinaste-Parve (Sales Director, Repo Vabrikud AS), Sulev Laanpere (Board Member, Savi AS), Karl Kivi (Chairman of the Board, FEMW OÜ), Ahto Altjõe (Chairman of the Board, EVR Cargo AS), Andrei Birov (Port of Sillamäe, Head of Marketing, Silmet Group), Kuno Väin (Chairman of the Board, CF&S Estonia AS), Tõnu Sepp (Advisory Board Member, ACE Logistics Group), Karli Lambot (Chariman of the Advisory Board, ACE Logistics Group), Bogdan Gogulan (Director of Development, Defendec AS), Sergei Balõbin (Director General, E.R.S. AS), Erik Sepping (Chairman of the Board, Insight OÜ), Jaan Heinsoo (Foreign Investments Advises, Internationalisation Division of Enterprise Estonia) and Kristy Tättar (Project Manager, Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

On the Tajikistani side, the representatives of 50 companies, including large industrial enterprises, furniture producers, logistics and transport companies, communications companies, etc., attended the forum.

During the visit, the business delegation had meetings in the Tajikistani ministries of economy and transport, the Association of Logistics and the Agency for Construction and Architecture.

With a conservative budget policy, the Tajikistani economy has grown substantially in recent years – the growth in 2012 and 2011 was 7.5%. In March 2013, Tajikistan officially became a member of the WTO, which provides it with a good platform for developing long‐term economic relations with both Estonia and the European Union.

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip is on a two-day official visit to Tajikistan. In addition to the business forum, Ansip will visit the Drug Control Agency and its canine centre. Yesterday he met with the country’s president, prime minister and chairman of the parliament. The meeting discussed regional developments in Central Asia, as well as promoting cooperation in e-services, tourism, transport and security between Estonia and Tajikistan. The Prime Minister will return home Wednesday.

For photos of the visit, go to http://valitsus.ee/et/uudised/pildialbum#2534-1

Estonian Government Press Releases

Prime Minister Ansip: Estonia to support the creation of common digital market in the European Union

Prime Minister Ansip: Estonia would be a good export gateway to Europe for Tajikistan