"Eastern Partnership countries have clearly improved the transparency of government processes and the promotion of democracy," Ratas was quoted in a press release as saying at the opening of the e-Partnership Conference titled "Trust in e-governance in Eastern Partnership Countries" on Wednesday. "Estonia is glad to continue sharing success stories and experiences with digital governance with its Eastern partners, however, we also encourage countries to contribute to innovation on their own as well."

The prime minister provided conference participants with an overview of the most important conclusions from the first EU Digital Summit that took place in Tallinn last week, known as the Tallinn Digital Summit. EU leaders agreed to focus more on the development of cross-border digital governance, creating infrastructure that supports the data economy as well as cybersecurity, which helps build the trust and security necessary for the development of the digital society.

"In today's world, we cannot leave the safety and security of cyberspace only to IT experts," Ratas said. "Cyber threats can cause damage on a global scale. This is why we need to tackle them — on a global scale as well. We must address them on the political level."

The e-Partnership Conference "Trust in e-governance in Eastern Partnership countries" focuses on using information technology in Eastern Partnership countries for improving the transparency of decision-making and the safety and security of cyberspace.

Eastern Partnership states include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.