OREANDA-NEWS. September 06, 2010. Prime Minister Andrus Ansip confirmed at his meeting with Israeli State Minister Michael Eitan that Estonia is prepared to work more closely with Israel in the field of information technology.

“I really hope your visit reinforces cooperation between Estonia and Israel in the area of IT,” the prime minister said. The Israeli state minister, who is visiting Estonia specifically to find out more about its IT achievements, was introduced to the e-government information system, which has now been in use in the country for ten years. “Not only are e-solutions convenient and economical in terms of the time they save you, but they also save taxpayers’ money,” Ansip explained.

State Minister Eitan says that there is a range of well-developed e-solutions in the private sector in Israel, but that their use in the private sector in the country is much more modest. “We hold Estonia’s experience in this field in great esteem,” he said. The issue of the security of Internet-based services was also raised at the meeting. The prime minister confirmed that people’s privacy is protected in Estonia and that any breach of it is considered a crime.

Prime Minister Ansip and State Minister Eitan stated that relations and cooperation between their two countries were at a very good level. Ansip reminded those present that on 10 May both Estonia and Israel were invited to join the OECD. “That’s a mark of quality for us both,” he said. “The OECD is a forum of democratic states where we can share our experiences and plan further cooperation.”

During his visit, which comes to an end today, the Israeli state minister also had meetings at the E-Government Academy, where he learnt more about Estonia’s e-health project and e-elections. Eitan also met with Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts.

Estonia’s e-state solutions are widely held in high regard. The country is currently assisting Azerbaijan and Albania in building up their own e-states, and preparations for such cooperation are ongoing with a number of other countries. Leading IT figures from almost 40 countries have taken part in the E-Government Academy training programme.