REPUBLIC OF EsT0NIA
MINISTRYOF ECONOMICAFFAIRS
AND COMMUNICATIONS
H.E. Mr Kono Taro
Minister of Digital
19F-20F Tokyo Garden Our Ref: 15.08.2022 No 24.1-8/2022/5104-
Terrace Kiocho,
1-3 Kioicho. Chiyoda-ku.
TOKYO 102-0094
Dear Minister Kono,
1 am writing to you to congratulate you on your appointment as Minister for Digital of Japan. As
you know. cooperation on promoting digital transformation in Japan and Estonia has constituted
the backbone of our relations for many years. and 1 am sure, will remain so for many years to
come. A number of our predecessors have been involved in designing the agenda for our
cooperation to that effect. most notably Ministers Makishima and Hirai.
Your knowledge, of course, is not limited to digital affairs and reform. your recent experience as
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, and Minister for Institutional Reform, as welI as your
participation in giobal affairs and Japanese politics for decades gives you a unique position to
contribute to digital transformation in our countries as well as giobally.
Relying on our collective experience, 1 am sure we can further contribute to developing the giobal
agenda, including, but fbi Iimited to digital transformation. The best and earliest opportunity 1 can
think ofis the upcoming annual Tallinn Digital Summit on the lOth and llth ofOctober 2022.
As a close friend of Estonia and a prominent Mernber of the Japan-Estonia Friendship Group in
the National Diet, 1 am sure you are well aware of the contribution the Government of Japan has
made in this particular connection in the past.
Consequently, it gives me great pleasure to use this opportunity to extend to you an invitation to
attend the Tallinn Digital Summit (TDS) this year. We will build upon Iast year’s focus on Trusted
Connectivity as a shared frarnework for democracies to unite various connectivity initiatives and
develop digital and physical infrastructure according to our dernocratic values and highest
standards. Now we turn our attention to delivering trusted connectivity through trusted
partnerships. TDS will explore the role connectivity plays in fostering giobal security, energy
security, cybersecurity and data protection. Please find attached to this invitation the concept paper
for this year’s Tallinn Digital Suminit.
Plcase accept, Excellency, the assurances ofrny highest consideration.
/
/2
Kristjan Järvan
Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology
Suur-Arneerika 1 / 10122 Tallinn / ESTONIA
Phone: +372 625 6342 / Fax: +372 631 3660 / E-iiiail:
[email protected] / http://www.rnkm.ee
::::+
.++++ Digital
Summit
Tallinn Digital Summit 2022 Concept Paper
The Tallinn Digital Summit is an annual event hosted by the Estonian Prime Minister that brings together
Ieaders frorn like-minded and digitally-advanced countries, international organizations, and the private sector
to address the rnost pressing issues of today and tomorrow, as well as to seize the opportunities on our road
toward a connected digital future.
Our transition to this digital future, built upon our shared democratic values, has collided with the grim
realities of geopolitics and the malign influence of autocracies. Democracies seek to harness the digital
transformation to build a future that is more free, prosperous, and sustainable, whereas autocracies seek to
exploit technology to inflict coercion both at horne and abroad. These opposing approaches are driving a race
for technological supremacy.
At the heart of this conflict lie trust—our confidence in systerns ofgovernance and in new technologies—and
connectivity—physical, digital, and virtual infrastructure. There is now a preinium on presenting a united
front against authoritarianism and on trusted partnerships, based on cornrnon interests, on dernocratic values,
and on the highest standards—the very essence oftrusted connectivity. At last year’s Tallinn Digital Surninit,
Estonia introduced Trusted Connectivity as a shared conceptual frarnework to consolidate and arnplify the
man) connectivity initiatives of like-minded deinocracies.
This year’s Summit will focus on delivering trusted connectivity through trusted partnerships. The
Suinmit will build bridges arnong various connectivity initiatives and elaborate on what constitutes a trusted
and secure digital society, as well as on concrete steps for governrnents, financial institutions, international
organizations, technical experts, and the private sector to take to ensure our democratic values, our
conirnitments to burnan freedom and human dignity, and the rules-based international order prevail. We will
explore the role of trusted connectivity and trusted partnerships across topics such as giobal stability, supply
chains, energy, economic, and cyber security, digital policy, international standards, artificial intelligence,
clouds and satellites, digital public goods, and Web 3.0, as well as their role in the reconstruction ofa free and
democratic Ukraine. Ali this necessitates the holistic shaping of the requisite political, institutional, and
eritrepreneurial ecosystems to increase public and private investrnents iii connectivity, as well as establishing an
architecture of trust within the international system, particularly through plurilateral arrangements such as the
transatlantic alliance, the G7, and the Quad.
The Summit takes place against the backdrop of several momentous developments. First, many new
connectivity initiatives have recently been introduced, including the G7’s Partnership for Giobal
Infrastructure and Investment, the EU’s GIobal Gateway, the UK’s Clean Green Initiative, and the
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. Second, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, in
conjunction with continuing cyberattacks against vital infrastructure, have amply underscored the
geopolitical importance of values-based investnients into trusted connectivity and of reducing our strategic
dependencies on malign actors. But new geostrategic imperatives also present an auspicious opportunity to
revitalize our cooperation in the face of shared challenges.
Main Topics
O GIobal Security: Building trusted partnerships to alleviate geopolitical turmoil.
O Energy Security: Decoupling froin untrusted partners and seeking trusted alternatives.
O Cybersecurity: Enabiing collective defense and enhancing resilience through trusted connectivity.
O Attracting Investments: Public—private cooperation in delivering trusted connectivity in practice.
O Modern Problems R.equire Modern Solutions: Trusted frameworks and partnerships across the
digital dornain, including data governance, artificial intelligence, clouds and satellites, and beyond.
Practical Information
Tallinn Digital Suminit 2022 will take place on 10—11 October at the Tallinn Creative Hub. The two days
consist of keynote speeches and panel discussions. A welcome dinner will be held at the Port ofTallinn Cruise
Terminal at the end of the first day.
delta_recipientName_1 \* MERGEFORMAT H.E. Mr Kono Taro Minister of Digital delta_recipientStreetHouse_1 \* MERGEFORMAT 19F-20F Tokyo Garden Terrace Kiocho, delta_recipientPostalCity_1 \* MERGEFORMAT 1-3 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, TOKYO 102-0094 Our Ref: delta_regDateTime \* MERGEFORMAT 15.08.2022 No delta_regNumber \* MERGEFORMAT 24.1-8/2022/5104-1 Dear Minister Kono, I am writing to you to congratulate you on your appointment as Minister for Digital of Japan. As you know, cooperation on promoting digital transformation in Japan and Estonia has constituted the backbone of our relations for many years, and I am sure, will remain so for many years to come. A number of our predecessors have been involved in designing the agenda for our cooperation to that effect , most notably Ministers Makishima and Hirai. You r knowledge , of course , is not limited to digital affairs and reform, your recent experience as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, and Minister for Institutional Reform , as well as your participation in global affairs and Japanese politics for decades gives you a unique position to contribute to digital transformation in our countries as well as globally. Relying on our collective experience, I am sure we can further contribute to developing the global agenda, including, but not limited to digital transformation. The best and earliest opportunity I can think of is the upcoming annual Tallinn Digital Summit on the 10th and 11th of October 2022 . As a close friend of Estonia and a prominent Member of the Japan- Estonia Friendship Group in the National Diet , I am sure you are well aware of the contribution the Government of Japan has made in this particular connection in the past. Consequently, it gives me great pleasure to use this opportunity to extend to you an invitation to attend the Tallinn Digital Summit (TDS) this year. We will build upon last year’s focus on Trusted Connectivity as a shared framework for democracies to unite various connectivity initiatives and develop digital and physical infrastructure according to our democratic values and highest standards. Now we turn our attention to delivering trusted connectivity through trusted partnerships. TDS will explore the role connectivity plays in fostering global security, energy security, cybersecurity and data protection . Please find attached to this invitation the concept paper for this year’s Tallinn Digital Summit. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. Kristjan Järvan Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology