President Ilves, who was on a working visit to the USA during which he attended the regular session of the UN General Assembly, confirmed on September 23, at his meeting with Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, Estonia's continued readiness to offer support to other countries for the development of e-governance systems and public e-services.
"An e-health system, e-governance, e-tax board, Internet-based elections and a number of other similar solutions all serve to increase efficiency and reduce expenses and corruption. Estonia remains willing to share its experiences at global level," told President Ilves.
President Ilves reminded those present at the meeting that Estonia has already helped countries like Palestine and Moldova, and now Tunisia, in the sphere of e-solutions.
The Estonian Head of State emphasised the need to ensure the global freedom of the Internet. "The freedom of the Internet and democracy come as a package. The Internet increases the free movement of ideas and information and this is something that should not be restricted. That is an issued to be dealt with throughout the world," President Ilves said.
According to President Ilves, some worrying developments in ensuring the freedom of the Internet have become notable at international level, and these are not solely confined to North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
"There are far too many countries speaking of the freedom of the Internet as a threat to their security. Cyber security is required to restrict criminal activities, not the exchange of ideas and information between people or virtual meetings," President Ilves added.
The UN Secretary General thanked Estonia for sharing its IT-experiences and confirmed that Estonia's contribution is always expected and welcome.
President Ilves spoke at his meeting with Ban Ki-moon about Estonia's wish to become a member of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Secretary General's possible visit to Estonia. Ban Ki-moon confirmed his wish to visit Estonia in the near future.
