It is my great honor to open this seminar. I am impressed by the level of interest this seminar has created. It reflects both the importance of the themes, and the expectation that if you put Swedish and Estonian companies together, you can generate new and ground-breaking solutions.
It has been hugely challenging few years for citizens, firms, governments everywhere. There have been several overlapping and acute crises. We have had to shift focus to short-term issues. But we need to shift focus back to future challenges that lie ahead.
Russia’s war against Ukraine will have long-term consequences. One of those is the negative impact on commodity prices and supply chains. But that could also be an opportunity. In my opinion this only reinforces the urgency of dealing with longer-term issues of innovation, digitalization, and the green transition.
Today, we will drill down into a more specific set of themes where these three broad transitions come together: the future of mobility and transport. Today’s program is rightly focused not on long speeches, but on allowing you – Swedish and Estonian entrepreneurs – to roll up your sleeves and explore new practical forms of cooperation.
I’m optimistic that good things will begin here today. First, I see many general complementarities between our economies. Second, many of the entrepreneurs here today are doing incredibly interesting things.
The fact that so many Swedish companies have already present in Estonia over the past 30 years underscores the strong foundations for further deepening business links between our countries.
When I think of Sweden, I think of one of the most innovative and green countries in the world. And since restoring independence, Estonia has done a great deal so you can think the same of us. Let me highlight four aspects:
First, our economy is flexible, dynamic, and resilient. The COVID crisis was a stress test for all countries and businesses. I believe that Estonia passed this test with flying colors. Our economy performed remarkably well during those difficult times, recording growth rates well in excess of the other countries in the region. Last year, despite all these challenges, our GDP grew by 8,3%, far faster than anywhere else in our region or in the EU as a whole. Even faster rates of export growth attest to ourunderlying competitiveness. We did not let this crisis go to waste.
Second, foreign companies are increasingly tapping into our good business environment and Northern European business culture, using Estonia and our know-how to restructure and digitize their internal operations, products,and services. With our innovative people and government, favorable legal environment, advanced digital infrastructure, and a stable economy, we have become a recognized testbed for new ideas and processes.
Third, Estonia has created a hub for digital business and more generally a vibrant startup ecosystem. As a result, we usually top the global tables in terms of startups per capita. We have become one of the first truly digital societies, a land of unicorns and great thoughts.
Fourth, despite the current difficult security challenges, Estonia remains a secure environment to do business. In some ways, security may be even better than in January because we now view things more realistically and are better prepared. Estonia has been a NATO member for over 18 years. NATO is the most successful defensive alliance – in all its history, no ally has ever been militarily attacked. And we welcome Sweden in NATO with open arms. The day after Finland and Sweden handed in their applications, my government acted quickly to approve these requests. We continue to advocate for a rapid accession process.
Turning the focus specifically to today’s topic – what is Estonia doing in the fields of mobility and transport?
My government has ambitious longer-term plans – codified in an approved "Transport and Mobility Development Plan 2021-2035". In transport, our current plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a further almost 30 percent by 2035.
Following the good example of other Nordic countries, we also aim to create a favorable environment for urban cycling. The state will work with larger local governments to develop a core network of cycle paths. The aim: increase bike use for commuting from the current 2-3% to 10%. This will naturally require development of the necessary infrastructure for smart bicycle storage.
Data and digitalization will play a key role in shaping our future transportation sector. The application of new technologies can helpincrease the safety, accessibility, security and reduce CO2 emissions of mobility and transport.In addition to strong e-government solutions, Estonia also has a rich ecosystem of smart mobility and intelligent transport developers. For example, there are some cities in Sweden that are using the ticketing system provided by an Estonian company in the public transport.
We were one of the first countries to legalize the use of autonomous vehicles on public roads (in 2016), and several models are being developed in Estonia. We also issued the first European permit for unmanned autonomous vehicles to travel in normal traffic.
To increase traffic safety, our local governments are implementing smart crossing solutions and our companies are developing large-scale smart street projects. As Estonia's rural areas are sparsely populated, we are piloting demand-based solutions to make mobility accessible to the residents there as well.
Of course, railways will be a backbone of thefuture transportation and will increasingly be looking to use green fuel. To this end, wecontinue to advance railway electrification and to further increase the speed of rail traffic, including by continuing to advance the Rail Baltic project.
Finally, Estonia is currently the fifth largest user of renewable energy in transport in the EU. Going forward, we will further expand the use of electric buses. We are also beginning to pilot the use of hydrogen in transport. While this technology is not yet mature, hydrogen will be a part of the future. No better place to be than Gothenburg for this as I know you are also testing these solutions.
I hope that also discussions today contribute to deepening existing as well as boosting new long-term and reliable partnerships. Together we can develop and provide new cutting-edge technologies that are not only of highest quality but also efficient responses to meeting the new standards and expectations in the EU or within global value chains.
Thank you and I wish you productive discussions this afternoon!
