Baku, June 29, AZERTAC

On June 29, the first meeting of the Digital Development Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan was held under the chairmanship of First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva.

First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva delivered a speech at the meeting.

Speech by First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva

- Dear colleagues,

Today we are holding the first meeting of the Digital Development Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In February of this year, under the chairmanship of President Ilham Aliyev, a meeting dedicated to our country’s new digital development strategy was held. In accordance with the instructions given at that meeting, the Action Plan for Digital Development was approved. A concrete Roadmap has been defined to guide the development of digitalization, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and the innovation ecosystem over the next three years. The Council’s main task is to coordinate the activities of various state institutions, establish a unified approach, and ensure the timely and effective implementation of the adopted decisions. Our goal is not only to introduce new technologies but also to give a strong impetus to the country’s economy, build a modern innovation ecosystem, attract local and foreign investment, support local startups, and create a more efficient public administration system.

Artificial intelligence is no longer the future—it is the main driving force of development today. At the same time, its role in ensuring the security of states is growing and has already come to the forefront. It is no secret that in the world’s leading countries, the development of artificial intelligence is advancing faster than previously forecast. This, in turn, creates both new opportunities and new threats. We must be prepared to address emerging challenges, particularly the risks associated with cybersecurity and information security.

Our work requires the active, coordinated, and effective engagement of all state institutions. Our goal is to transform Azerbaijan into one of the leading countries in the region in the fields of digital development and artificial intelligence. We must study international experience and adopt successful models. At the same time, all decisions must be based on Azerbaijan’s national interests and address the country’s specific needs.

At today’s meeting, Rashad Nabiyev will present a report on the work carried out and the results achieved since the previous meeting.

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Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev briefed the First Vice-President on the work carried out and the tasks ahead regarding the implementation of the "Action Plan for Accelerating Digital Development for 2026–2028."

He noted that the Action Plan covers 58 initiatives in the areas of digitalization, artificial intelligence, the innovation ecosystem, and cybersecurity. Touching upon the work carried out in the field of digitalization, the Minister said that roadmaps had been prepared with 40 state institutions, 13 of which had already been approved or were at the approval stage.

Rashad Nabiyev also provided information on the establishment of the National Data Center and emphasized that work continues on migrating state information systems to the government cloud and constructing a new data center. Noting that the number of users of the "mygov" platform had increased from 2.7 million to 3.5 million over the past three months, while its range of services had been expanded, the Minister said that several applications had already been integrated into the platform and that services from seven more state applications would be made available to citizens by the end of the year.

The Minister emphasized that artificial intelligence is one of the Action Plan’s key priorities. He said that the use of AI solutions is being expanded within "mygov" and other state institutions, and that a virtual citizen assistant has already been introduced.

Touching upon the development of the innovation ecosystem, Rashad Nabiyev noted that work had begun on establishing the Azerbaijan Resilience Cluster to bring together companies operating in areas that strengthen technological sovereignty. He also highlighted ongoing efforts in the field of cybersecurity, noting that work continues on establishing the National Security Operations Center, the National Cyber Incident Response Center, and the Digital Forensics Center, as well as creating a unified national cybersecurity platform to ensure operational information exchange between the public and private sectors.

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Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Department of Economic Issues and Innovative Development Policy of the Presidential Administration Shahmar Movsumov briefed the First Vice-President on legislative reforms in the digital sphere.

Shahmar Movsumov noted that, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, digital transformation is being consistently implemented as one of the main priorities of state policy. Recalling that the Digital Development Council was established and the "Action Plan for Accelerating Digital Development in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2026–2028" was approved by a presidential decree signed in February this year, he said that, under the leadership of First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, comprehensive reforms are being prepared in line with the Council’s strategic priorities and its instructions to establish a modern legislative framework.

He emphasized that this represents the most comprehensive and fundamental reform initiative in the post-Soviet space aimed at developing and regulating the digital ecosystem.

Touching upon the areas covered by the reform, Shahmar Movsumov said they include ensuring legal certainty, creating a competitive tax environment, financing innovation, encouraging scientific research and innovation, attracting talent, expanding market access opportunities, and strengthening cybersecurity regulation.

The Presidential Assistant noted that one of the reforms' key features is that they are based on international best practices, with successful models from various countries studied during the preparation of the proposed legislative changes.

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Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev briefed the First Vice-President on the work carried out to advance the digitalization of education in the country and on future plans.

The Minister touched upon the provision of a unified internet network for educational institutions, the "Digital School" project, the digitalization of data across all levels of education, and the digitization of educational documents, noting that the digitalization of teaching is planned as the next stage.

Emin Amrullayev also highlighted the "Digital Skills" and "STEAM Azerbaijan" projects being implemented in schools to develop students’ digital competencies, emphasizing that strengthening human capital in this field remains one of the main priorities.

The meeting continued with discussions.