According to an Estonian Center for International Development (ESTDEV) press release, the visit was organized within the framework of Kenya's human centered digitalization project.

The delegation visited institutions and companies associated with both the creation of Estonia's e-state and its current operations, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Tax and Customs Board, Cybernetica, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), the Estonian IT Center, the State Information System Authority, the Ministry of the Interior and the Government Office of Estonia.

Kenya is a priority country for Estonian development cooperation and one of the European Union's strategic partners in Africa.

"Estonia is not a country that can offer investments to African countries of the necessary volume, but we can offer our cooperation, for example, in information technology," said President Alar Karis in an interview with Välisilm this week following a visit to Botswana and Angola, as digital transformation is one of Estonia's priorities in Africa.

Currently, ESTDEV is managing the implementation of a €2.4 million international project in Kenya to support the country's digitalization and the creation of an open, efficient digital society. Kenya faces many of the same challenges in creating e-services and interoperability as Estonia once did.

For development cooperation projects in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa, ESTDEV aims to work closely with other donors. The Kenyan digital development project is part of the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Human-Centered Digitalization, implemented by GIZ through the Digital Transformation Center (DTC) and co-financed by Germany and the European Union. It is Estonia's largest foreign-funded project to date.

"ESTDEV is responsible for the implementation of the entire €2.4 million. Estonian NGOs, private and public sector companies and experts will have the opportunity to participate by offering their skills and services through public tenders, which will increase Estonia's influence as a development cooperation partner in Kenya and bring tax revenue to the Estonian economy," explained Andres Ääremaa, ESTDEV's program manager for digital transformation.

In addition to being the economic center of the East African region, Kenya is also a country with growing export and investment potential. Besides supporting its digital development, Estonian development cooperation in Kenya also addresses stability, security and green economy issues in the Horn of Africa region, as well as multilateral cooperation and promotion of European values.

This aligns with Estonia's strategic goals in Africa as outlined in Estonia's African regional strategy 2020-2030, which also sets targets for deepened foreign policy communication and cooperation with Kenya.

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