Baku, May 17 (AZERTAC). The Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan has today held a solemn ceremony dedicated to the May 17- World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD). The event was attended by representatives of the public sector, NGOs, CEOs and heads of private companies operating in ICT field including media representatives. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event, Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan Iltimas Mammadov conveyed greetings and congratulations of the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan Ali Abbasov to the participants, and noted that May 17 is the holiday of each of those who work in the field of information technologies.

“Every year on May 17 Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) makes a statement and declares about it the problem and issue to which during the year more attention of all the world information community will be directed. This year WTISD is marked under the slogan “A better life with ICT in rural areas,” said the Deputy Minister.

Speaking about the important role of ICT in developing countries, in particular in rural and remote areas, Iltimas Mammadov stressed that Azerbaijan has always paid great attention to the development of the regions and this issue is always under the personal control of President Ilham Aliyev.

The Deputy Minister noted that President of Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regional development, and government programs adopted in the country in this area can be noted as graphic example of this, that are aimed at developing regions and in particular the development of telecommunications infrastructure of the republic. In recent years Azerbaijan systematically develops and enhances the potential use of ICTs, with particular attention to the regions.

The Deputy Minister highlighted the fact that full elctronization of telephone network in all regions of the country has completed, and added that in addition to traditional means of communication, work on the development of satellite communications has already started in Azerbaijan. After launching first telecom satellite of the Republic, which will be realized before the end of 2012, new opportunities will be created for the use of ICT in both urban and rural areas.

Stressing the important role of ICT in the lives of people from a global point of view, Iltimas Mammadov mentioned the recent devastating earthquake in Japan, and events in the Arab world, where communication technologies helped in conveying information around the world.

In conclusion, the Deputy Minister delivered a short presentation about the development of the country`s telecommunications platform in recent years.

It was followed by a presentation of a new information resource ICTnews.az, prepared by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies. The new electronic resource that is available in Azerbaijani, English and Russian languages, was ​​created to inform the public about ICT news in the world and Azerbaijan. Besides, the event participants watched a video message from the Secretary-General of International Telecommunication Union Hamadoun Touré on the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.

Then speakers congratulated everyone on the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day in their speeches and noted ICT as an important tool for a better life on the planet.

As part of the event, rewarding the winners of republican Olympiad in informatics among university students, dedicated to 130th anniversary of the establishment of the telephone communications in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day took place. Organizers of the Olympiad were the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Ministry of Education and the Institute of Information Technologies of ANAS.

Winners were awarded diplomas and valuable prizes.

At the end of the ceremony, the participants saw presentation of the book “The Formation of Information Science in Azerbaijan” prepared with the assistance of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies. The book devoted to the 50th anniversary of computer science in Azerbaijan, reflects the history of the creation and development stages of the sphere of computer science.

UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on March 26, 2006 which proclaimed 17 May as the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.

Date of the holiday is related to the creation of the International Telegraph Union on May 17, 1865, later renamed the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Marking the 17 May is pursuing a goal of increasing the awareness of the opportunities of the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICTs) that could bring for societies and countries.

This year`s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is marked on the theme “Better Life with ICT in Rural Areas”, adopted by the ITU Council in 2009 and is the continuation of the development of the topic “Better City, Better Life with ICTs” in 2010.

This year`s theme serves the purpose of the benefits of ICT to improve the future of the rural population.