Meeting with the Estonian Ambassador, Kim Dong-yeon Proposes Forming a Practical Working Group for Startup Collaboration

Governor Kim Dong-yeon met with Sten Schwede, the Ambassador of Estonia to Korea, who visited Gyeonggi Provincial Government on the 22nd, and said, "Estonia is a leading country in digital government, and Gyeonggi-do is very interested in utilizing artificial intelligence and advanced technologies not only in digital government but also in the overall lives of its residents." He explained, "Gyeonggi-do is striving to become a global pioneer in the digital field, not only in Korea."

He added, "One of my main policies is to make Gyeonggi-do a startup paradise. To this end, we are developing the 3rd Pangyo Techno Valley following the 1st and 2nd Pangyo Techno Valleys." He suggested, "I believe there will be many opportunities for cooperation with Estonia in the process of making Gyeonggi-do a startup paradise. I hope that this visit will serve as a chance to build a working-level consultative body for cooperation with Estonia."

In response, Ambassador Sten Schwede said, "Estonia is as small as a Korean city but is a digital powerhouse that introduced the world's first electronic residency system called ‘e-Residency’ and serves as a gateway to the European Union (EU) market with a population of 500 million." He added, "I have heard that Gyeonggi-do is a leading region in various technological fields. I think there are many areas for cooperation, and I would also like to collaborate in the cultural and artistic fields."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon (left) warmly shakes hands with Sten Schwede, the Estonian Ambassador to Korea, who visited the Gyeonggi Provincial Government on the 22nd.

Ambassador Sten Schwede, who was appointed as the first ambassador after the opening of the Estonian Embassy in Korea in 2020, has been discussing ways to promote Korea-Estonia exchanges in various fields such as digital economy and startup company development through meetings with key government officials.

Estonia, which has recently attracted growing interest from Korean tourists, is located in the southeastern Baltic Sea region of Europe and is known as one of the Baltic States along with Lithuania and Latvia. In 2014, it became famous as a leading digital government country by introducing the world’s first electronic residency system called ‘e-Residency,’ and it is the country that has produced the highest number of unicorn companies (companies valued over 1 trillion won) per capita in Europe.

After the meeting, Ambassador Sten Schwede visited the Gyeonggi Startup Campus located in Pangyo, where he listened to the policies for fostering startup companies in Gyeonggi-do and toured the related facilities.

Gyeonggi-do expects that this meeting will further strengthen the exchange and cooperation relationship between the two regions in the digital industry sector.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.