The independent foundation has been working on the "Cuba Digital" project with Spain since 2024 to digitalize parts of Cuba's state system and procure ICT equipment.

A decision has now been made in cooperation with the European Union delegation in Cuba to suspend the project.

Anu Vahtra-Hellat, communications manager at the e-Governance Academy, said Cuba is in a serious crisis in many respects.

"The e-Governance Academy will complete the hardware procurement, as required by the Public Procurement Act. However, the equipment will not be delivered to Cuba at this time. We will wait for better times in Cuba," she said.

On Tuesday, the Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee visited the e-Governance Academy. Its chair, Marko Mihkelson, has previously said that Cuba aid programs should be reviewed because the world has changed and the aid provided there supports the Cuban regime rather than its residents. Cuba also actively supports Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Hannes Astok, chairman of the management board of the e-Governance Academy, said the decision to pause the Cuba project was not made as a result of the recent meeting with the committee, but earlier.

"The decision was made during discussions with the EU delegation and project partners last week. The Foreign Affairs Committee's visit did not influence the decision, since in Estonia parliamentary committees do not decide on the activities of private organizations," he said.

Astok said the foundation also gave the committee an overview of its activities.

"We also discussed the challenges of exporting Estonia's digital state model and exchanged ideas on how to improve the transfer of other countries' best digital practices to Estonia's public sector," he said.

The e-Governance Academy launched a €441,000 procurement in January to purchase ICT equipment for Cuba, and three bids were submitted.

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