Azerbaijan to ext end ICT cooperation with EU member countries
Baku, December 7 (AZERTAC). The meeting of the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov with the ambassadors of foreign countries focused on the current situation in the ICT sector in the country, ongoing reforms in this field and prospects.
Stressing that Azerbaijan is now in the new stage of development, the Minister said that the concept of “Azerbaijan 2020: a Look into the Future" is being prepared. He noted that now the goal is to develop the information technology, the knowledge-based economy and ensure in the next 8-10 years, the non-oil sector.
The Minister noted that according to a certain order to achieve these goals, the strategy in the first place, it is planned to ensure the full development of the Internet in the country - the use of broadband access to Internet, high-speed Internet, bringing its volume in the next 3 years to 85 percent.
“This project, to be implemented jointly with the State Oil Fund, will be mainly carried out on the basis of the optical network. In addition, our goal is to create an enabling environment in the country for the development of ICT, improving the competitive environment, the easing of monetary, fiscal and customs policies, “ Abbasov underlined.
At his words, “in the coming years, the government of Azerbaijan will also pay great attention to the “E-Government” project. “We believe that in 2020 about 80 percent of the population of Azerbaijan will use electronic services. Government plans to increase investment in this field. By 2020, for these purposes it will be allocated approximately $ 3.6 billion. And this time, the European Union is a very important partner for us“, he said.
Stressed that the European Union has a development strategy up to 2020, the Minister drew attention to the importance of ICT as a guarantee of future economic development.
Describing Azerbaijan’s VII Internet Governance Forum, which is a prestigious international event in the field of ICT, as a great success, the head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Ambassador Roland Kobia conveyed congratulations on this event. Noting the importance of the organization of such a dialogue between countries, the ambassador said that the exchange of experience in the ICT sector have a positive impact on future development.
The event was attended by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the head of the Foreign Relations Department Novruz Mammadov.
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