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 made 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, a meeting dedicated to the new digital development strategy of our country was held under the chairmanship of President Ilham Aliyev, and based on the instructions given, the Action Plan for digital development was approved. A specific Roadmap has been determined for the next three years, ensuring the development of digitalization, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and the innovation ecosystem. The main task of the Council is to coordinate the activities of various state bodies, form a unified approach and ensure the timely and effective implementation of the decisions made. Our goal is not only to introduce new technologies, but also to give a strong impetus to the country's economy, form a new modern innovation ecosystem, attract local and foreign investments to the country, support local startups, and create a more efficient public administration system.
Artificial intelligence is no longer the main development factor of the future, but of today. At the same time, the role of artificial intelligence in ensuring the security of states is increasing and already occupies a central place. It is no secret that the development of artificial intelligence in the world's leading countries is proceeding faster than expected forecasts, and this, in turn, creates both new opportunities and new threats. We must be ready for new challenges, especially existing and emerging risks in the field of cybersecurity and information security.
Our activities require the joint active and effective work of all state agencies. Our goal is to turn Azerbaijan into one of the leading countries in the region in the fields of digital development and artificial intelligence. We must learn from foreign, international experience and use successful models. However, all decisions must be made based on factors that meet the national interests and needs of Azerbaijan.
At today's meeting, Rashad Nabiyev will report on the work carried out in the last months since the consultation and the results achieved.
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Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev informed the First Vice President about the work done in connection with the implementation of the "Action Plan for Accelerating Digital Development for 2026−2028" and the upcoming tasks. He noted that the action plan includes 58 initiatives in the areas of digitalization, artificial intelligence, innovation ecosystem and cybersecurity. Touching upon the work done in the direction of digitalization, the minister said that Roadmaps have been prepared with 40 state agencies, 13 of which have already been approved or are in the approval stage.
Rashad Nabiyev informed about the creation of the National Data Pool, emphasized that work on the migration of state information systems to the government cloud and the construction of a new data center is continuing. The minister said that the service area of the "MyGov" platform has been expanded, and the number of users has increased from 2.7 million to 3.5 million in the last three months, adding that several applications have already been integrated into the platform, and the services of seven more state applications will be made available to citizens by the end of the year.
The Minister of Digital Development and Transport emphasized that one of the main priorities of the action plan is artificial intelligence, and said that the application of artificial intelligence solutions in "MyGov" and other state institutions has been expanded, and a virtual citizen assistant has been launched. Rashad Nabiyev touched upon the development of the innovation ecosystem, emphasized that the establishment of the Azerbaijan Resilience Cluster has been launched in order to bring together companies operating in areas that strengthen technological sovereignty, and spoke about the work done in the field of cybersecurity. He noted that work is continuing to establish the National Security Operations Center, the National Cyber Incident Response Center and the Digital Investigation Center, as well as to establish a single national cybersecurity platform that will ensure operational information exchange between the state and private sectors.
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Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Department of Economic Issues and Innovative Development Policy of the Presidential Administration Shahmar Movsumov informed the First Vice President about 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 priority directions of state policy. The Decree signed by the Head of State in February of this year established the Digital Development Council and the “Azerbaijan
Recalling the approval of the "Action Plan for Accelerating Digital Development in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2026−2028", Shahmar Movsumov said that, under the leadership of the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, complex reforms are being prepared to form a modern legislative framework in accordance with the strategic priorities and tasks set by the Council. He emphasized that this is the most comprehensive and fundamental reform initiative implemented in the post-Soviet space towards the development and regulation of the digital ecosystem.
Shahmar Movsumov touched upon the areas covered by the reform and stated that these are ensuring legal certainty, forming a competitive tax environment, financing innovations, promoting scientific research and innovation, attracting talents, expanding market access opportunities, and improving regulation in the field of cybersecurity.
The Assistant to the President said that one of the important aspects of these reforms is that they are based on world experience, noting that successful models of various countries were studied when preparing the changes.
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Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev informed the First Vice-President about the work done in the direction of digitalization of education in the country and future plans. The Minister touched upon the issues of providing educational institutions with a single internet network, the “Digital School” project, the digitization of information on educational levels, and the electronicization of educational documents, and said that the next stage is the digitalization of education.
Emin Amrullayev also noted the “Digital Skills” and “STEAM Azerbaijan” projects implemented in schools to develop students’ digital skills, and emphasized that ensuring the development of human capital in this direction is also one of the main priorities.
The meeting continued with discussions.
