MARKO POMERANTS: HUAWEI HAS ASKED ME TO EXPLAIN HOW ESTONIA WORKS

Marko Pomerants of Powerhouse Communications, who represents Chinese technology company Huawei, said that his goal is to help the company understand how the state of Estonia works. Pomerants added that as the former Minister of the Interior, he knows how to respect the security interests of Estonia and doesn't identify himself with his client.

On Thursday, a meeting was held between the representatives of Huawei and the Estonia-China parliamentary group. On whose initiative did the meeting take place and what was its objective?

It took place on the initiative of Huawei and the objective was to explain Huawei's intentions in relation to 5G and speak about their problems in relation to the Electronic Communications Act that is currently processed by the Estonian parliament.

So, in a nutshell, what are Huawei's plans in relation to Estonia?

I believe that it's already public knowledge that they want to sell their technology in all countries where this is possible. Huawei's products are currently sold in 170 countries around the world. And since they have the parts necessary for the 5G technology, they obviously want operators to use them.

However, speaking of legislative drafting, I believe that we all share the same understandings. Perhaps not all of us, but the interests of the state of Estonia as well as operators of any origin should be the same in that, when the lawmaker has intent, it should be clear and transparent, the rules should be understandable so that these requests to use technology don't just disappear into a black hole.

And that's why this meeting was held. Huawei presented its own understanding of what the company is about. The members of the Riigikogu were also able to ask their questions and the meeting ended on a friendly note after an hour.

What do you think about the recent report of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, which includes warnings about the entry of Huawei into the development of the 5G network in Estonia?

Security threats must certainly be taken into consideration and, in my opinion, the important aspect of this story is that the people who are responsible for the security of Estonia – whether it's the Estonian government or the respective authorities – must have accurate information on what the price of one or another consideration or decision is. And then inform the people who have to be informed. That's all there is.