Digitalisation at the centre of Flemish minister-president's visit to Estonia and Finland

Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon leaves Sunday evening for a two-day visit to Estonia and Finland. The visit is part of the Flemish government's northern strategy, in which Flanders wants to connect with prosperous countries in the north. Apart from Latvia, Estonia and Finland, Jambon has now visited all the countries covered by the strategy.

On Sunday evening, minister-president Jan Jambon (N-VA) lands in the Estonian capital Tallinn. As Jambon is also the Flemish minister for Digitalisation, he wants to know more about how Estonia, a country known as a pioneer in e-governance, handles digital services for citizens and businesses. To that end, Jambon will visit the University of Tartu, where the digitalisation of Estonian society will be explained.

Furthermore, a meeting with the Estonian minister of Entrepreneurship and IT Kristjan Järvan and a conversation with the minister of Culture Piret Hartman on digitalising cultural heritage are scheduled. In addition, a visit to the mobility platform BOLT, which operates in Brussels, Namur and Dinant, forms the economic part of Jambon's day in Estonia.

Russian Ukrainian conflict

As a neighbour of Russia, the conflict with Ukraine is never far away in Estonia. During a meeting with Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas and a visit to the Estonian Development Centre, the war, the Russian threat and the consequences for Estonia are discussed.

On Monday evening, the Flemish delegation will move to the Finnish capital Helsinki. Besides green transition and innovation, Finland will also focus on digitalisation, trade and academic cooperation. On Tuesday, meetings with Finnish minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka and state secretary for Economic Affairs Ann-Mari Kemell are scheduled.

In addition, Jambon will visit the Finnish innovation fund Sitra, paper company Stora Enso and technology company Nokia. Furthermore, Jambon will meet the rectors of Helsinki and Aalto universities for a seminar on the ecosystem around universities.

'The Quiet Parade', an exhibition by Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck, at the museum Amos Rex will be the capstone of the Finnish visit of the minister-president, who also has culture in his portfolio. In Helsinki, the artist presents a Gesamtkunstwerk of 24 sculptures, a soundscape and a video artwork.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Flemish Minister President Jan Jambon pictured during a plenary session of the Flemish Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday 05 October 2022.}

^{© BELGA PHOTO Dirk Waem}