President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy states that one of the priority tasks of the Ukrainian authorities now is the development of the country's digital economy and the digitization of public services, as it not only frees citizens from unnecessary bureaucracy, but also helps in the fight against corruption.
"Ukraine, whose outsourced IT professionals have already digitized half of the world, simply deserves to have digital capabilities for a better and more comfortable life," the Head of State said during a speech at the Digital Society sandbox forum within an official visit to Estonia.
He noted that the Ukrainian project “A State in a Smartphone” made life easier for citizens and more difficult for corrupt officials.
“Today, this is the most important priority for our young, new government. You just push a button and there is no corrupt official. And this is not an explosion,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President stated that Estonia had made a huge leap forward in terms of innovation and modernization, and was now one of the EU leaders, so Ukraine was ready to learn its experience.
"We are not ashamed to learn... Thank you for sharing your very important experience, showing us how to create a modern and efficient system of governance, real, fair and open rules for business, an attractive investment climate," he said.
According to the Head of State, Estonia's success in this area is the result of long and hard work. Due to digitization, citizens can file a tax declaration in five minutes, saving considerable resources and paper piles.
"Such process optimization in Ukraine can save even more resources," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
However, the most impressive result of digitization for the President of Ukraine was overcoming corruption. "We see that the transition to digital public services not only freed citizens from unnecessary bureaucracy, but also helped the state get rid of corruption and increased trust in the authorities," he said.
Volodymyr Zelensky reminded that the Ministry of Digital Transformation had been established in Ukraine for the first time in 28 years of independence. He thanked the Estonian E-Governance Academy for the joint implementation of the E_GOV_4_UKRAINE project.
"It is part of the U-LEAD decentralization program funded by the European Union in conjunction with Sweden and Estonia. This project will take Ukraine to a new level of digital transformation. In the framework of this project, systems of electronic interaction of the state electronic information resources “Trembita” are being created, as well as the work of the centers of administrative services "Vulyk" is being automated,” Volodymyr Zelensky noted.
In addition, the President spoke about the adoption of a large number of laws that should contribute to the improvement of the business climate and the fight against corruption. He recalled similar experience in Estonia, in particular Mart Laar’s government in 1992-1994.
“Sometimes a truly radical change in the country requires radical speed. This applies to the fight against corruption, the eHealth system, and digitization in general,” Volodymyr Zelensky noted.
The Head of State also announced the launch of a new project - an innovative platform called Lift. It is designed to find skilled professionals who can provide rapid change in the country and its successful development. Anyone can join the project.
During the Digital Forum, the Presidents of Ukraine and Estonia reviewed the presentation of the Digital society sandbox project.
