Thank you

Going to the authorities online and setting up a business in three days - that works in Lithuania. As one of the pioneers of digitisation, Lithuania was 2019 the official partner country of the Smart Country Convention. From 22 to 24 October 2019, the country showed innovative digital applications for administrations, public companies and the digitisation of cities, municipalities and rural districts in the CityCube Berlin.

"Digital technologies are an integral part of Lithuania. Lithuania re-established its independence the same year the Internet was introduced and since then intensively develops electronic public services. We have a lot of experience and Lithuanian people have got used to obtain public services online, because it is cheaper and faster.

Today's society must evolve and not be afraid to change along with technological evolution. Today we can talk about the level of digital transformation in Lithuania not only in terms of e-Governance, which simply means that governments are creating a digital versions of analog paper documents. Lithuanian institutions transform in terms of Digital Governance, which refers to enabling, improving, transforming services, operations and functions. Because we aim to create public services that are not only electronic but digital by design.

The development of the digital economy is necessary for the country's growth. For this reason, Lithuania is promoting a culture of innovation and digitalisation, both for business and public sector. This allows us to seek progress, transparency and smoother policymaking.

However, cyber- and personal data security is necessary for the state and every member of society in the digital space, Lithuania pays special attention to cybersecurity and is one of the leading countries in the world.

We want to share our experience about public sector, cybersecurity and smart cities with Germany, our main economic partner. For this reason, Lithuania has become a partner of the Smart Country Convention.

Digital Lithuania in ratings
- In Lithuania over 90% of public services are available online (European Commission, “eGovernment benchmark 2018”).
- Lithuania scores over 70% in digitalization index, (European Commission, “eGovernment benchmark 2018”).
- According to European Commission Lithuania belongs to the “Fruitful eGovernment” category of countries."

Darius Jonas Semaška, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the Federal Republic of Germany

Be it digitally connected citizens’ service centres, electronic medical reports, internet tax declarations or gigabit networks, Denmark has become a pioneer in many areas of digitalisation. The EU’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) puts Denmark top of the list of 28 EU countries. At the Smart Country Convention 2018 this Scandinavian nation was the official partner country of the fair, and at the CityCube Berlin showcased innovative digital applications for administrations, public enterprises and for authorities at town, municipal and county level.

"Everyone needs to play a part in digitization. Digitization stopped being a choice long ago.

In Denmark, digitization has created growth, wealth and welfare among citizens and freed up resources in the public sector that can be allocated to other core societal areas, such as Health, Education or Welfare. This is the reason that we are honoured to be official partner country at the Smart Country Convention.

We look forward to meeting you at the Smart Country Convention and to sharing our experiences and digital solutions."

Friis Arne Petersen, Danish Ambassador to Germany