Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends of Estonia in Dubai EXPO,
Welcome to the business forum!
Digital solutions and innovative mindset have helped Estonia a lot in recent years. Digital is the cross-cutting and enormous opportunity, it is an Estonian way of doing business.
Times have been turbulent. We had the covid crisis, supply-side disruption and the upsurge of energy prices. Yet we have coped them well. The digital community is fast to react and to adapt to new situations. There is an app for everything, whether you need to make a transaction, rent a car or measure the amount of lumber.
In Estonia we knew long before covid-19 that it is possible to start a business online with a few clicks or vote at parliamentary elections. During the last two years we have seen how even traditional businesses can be moved online,
if needed. We have witnessed an enormous development in payment systems, education technology, transportation solutions and in many other fields, which exploit IT solutions.
All of this is possible thanks to favourable business climate with simple tax system and low bureaucracy. We have also introduced immigration laws, which lower the hurdles for tech-companies.
The IT sector has flourished in recent decades in Estonia. The share of jobs in the IT sector has been constantly increasing and the technology sector has contributed a significant part of our economic expansion.
Thanks to our way of doing business, there are many successful firms, originating from Estonia, despite Estonia being a small country, with a population of just 1.3 million. The business friendly environment has made Estonia a hub for technology firms and start-ups. We have the highest number of unicorns per capita in Europe (Skype, Playtech, Wise, Bolt, Pipedrive, Zego, ID.me). At some point the start-up sector will contribute about a third of the GDP.
Our focus here is on promoting business relationships. We see further opportunities for cooperation in sectors such as the defence industry, digitalization, food, education, personal medicine, and others. We are honoured to be at Dubai EXPO represented with our pavilion, which tells the story of our digital society.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
I'm glad to add that today, 10 days before the closure of this great event we're also thinking about the future - how to maintain and strengthen our bilateral economic relations after the EXPO. It makes me especially delighted to announce that, at the request of our business communities, we have established the Estonian-UAE Business Council, the founding members of which are meeting today for the very first time.
I wish the Business Council every success and I am sure that it will bring Estonia and the Emirates closer together and helps to build up the mutual trust between our countries, not only in economics and politics, but also in education, culture and other areas.
I hope that you will find many new contacts and inspiring ideas from this forum.
