Ukraine ‘deepens cooperation’ with Estonia in digital governance and cybersecurity
Ukraine and Estonia are to further strengthen their international digital cooperation, including in the crucial field of cybersecurity, as Russian forces continue their deadly attacks on Ukraine.
Ukraine deputy minister of digital transformation Vitalii Balashov and Estonia minister of justice and digital affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta signed a memorandum of cooperation in the fields of digitalisation and cybersecurity in October.
Then last week, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation and Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV, which manages Estonia’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance programmes) confirmed the growing collaboration on the website of Ukraine’s ‘Digital State’ initiative.
In particular, they announced that under the Tallinn Mechanism – an international initiative that unites 13 countries in support of Ukraine’s cybersecurity – nine training modules will be undertaken for Ukrainian officials in 2026, reaching around 500 specialists.
Read more: International support bolsters Ukraine’s digital services
Ongoing collaboration deepens
The two nations’ government departments and agencies have worked closely on numerous initiatives in recent years, with milestones including the ‘Diia’ app – launched in 2020, which allows Ukrainian citizens to use digital documents on smartphones for identification and sharing purposes.
Luukas Ilves, Estonia’s former undersecretary for digital and government chief information officer, is an advisor to Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, where he is working on artificial intelligence and other new government services.
Ilves spoke at Global Government Forum’s Digital Summit in Ottawa last week, discussing the potential for agentic AI to solve government problems. A report on the Digital Summit will be produced in the weeks ahead on Global Government Forum, and Ilves’ comments came after he spoke to GGF about the opportunity for AI agents in government.
In a special episode of the Government Transformed podcast, the executive editor of Global Government Forum Richard Johnstone speaks to Ilves and Manuel Kilian, the founding managing director of the Global Government Technology Centre, about how agentic AI can revamp how government works.
This conversation covers what agentic AI is, how it can be useful to governments, and how to build systems in public services that can make the most of it, looking at potential use cases across the different functions of government.
Listen to the episode to help understand the elements of this potential government transformation and the potential for creating an agentic state.
Joint projects: AI accelerator, sandbox, and more
The memorandum signed by Balashov and Pakosta covers the implementation of joint projects in cybersecurity, as well as AI and e-services. Specific plans mentioned include: establishing a joint ‘AI Accelerator’ to test and implement AI solutions in government institutions; launching an ‘AI Sandbox’ for the safe testing of new technologies; implementing pilot EdTech (education technology) projects to create ‘AI tutors’ and digital learning platforms; and participating jointly in international cyber exercises, including ‘Locked Shields’ by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
It also includes developing open GovTech (government technology) solutions and training programmes for civil servants, and “exchanging experience in data management and implementing post-quantum cryptography in e-services”.
Two specific new developments further highlighted last week include an international tender, being run out of Estonia and funded by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency); and the signing of an agreement to launch new Tallinn Mechanism projects funded by Norad (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation).
Details on the Sida-funded tender – for which Ukrainian cybersecurity companies are invited to apply – are located on Estonia’s public procurement portal. The activity is described as a framework procurement for information and communication technology related items and services, carried out by the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV, which manages Estonia’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance programmes). Its estimated cost is €27m (US$31.7m) and tenders need to be submitted by 16 December.
The announcement also states that the two countries are “also expanding trilateral cooperation with the United Kingdom”.
This story was first published on GGF’s sister website, Global Government Fintech: Ukraine ‘deepens cooperation’ with Estonia in digital governance and cybersecurity
About Ian Hall
Ian is Global Government Finance editor. He has formerly held roles including UK director of Euractiv (2011-2018), editor of Public Affairs News (2007-2011) and news editor of PR Week (2000-2007). He was shortlisted for ‘Editor of the Year’ at the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) Awards in 2010. He began his career in the Balkans at English-language weekly the Sofia Echo (Bulgaria: 1998-1999).
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