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 Mehriban Aliyeva.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva delivered a speech at the meeting.
-Distinguished 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 country's new digital development strategy was held under the chairmanship of President Ilham Aliyev, and in accordance with the tasks assigned, an Action Plan for digital development was approved. A concrete Roadmap has been established 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 government agencies, form a unified approach, and ensure the timely and effective implementation of adopted decisions. Our goal is not only to apply new technologies but also to provide a strong impetus to the national 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 a matter of the future; it is a key factor of development 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 in the world's leading nations, the development of artificial intelligence is proceeding faster than predicted, which in turn creates both new opportunities and new threats. We must be prepared for new challenges, especially risks arising in the fields of cybersecurity and information security.
Our activities require the joint, active, and effective work of all government agencies. Our goal is to turn Azerbaijan into one of the leading states in the region in the fields of digital development and artificial intelligence. We must study foreign and international experience and use successful models. However, all decisions must be based on factors that meet the national interests and needs of Azerbaijan.
At today's meeting, Minister Rashad Nabiyev will report on the work carried out and the results achieved in the months 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 regarding the implementation of the "Action Plan for 2026-2028 on accelerating digital development" and the tasks ahead. 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 done in the field of digitalization, the Minister stated that Roadmaps have been prepared with 40 government agencies, 13 of which have already been approved or are in the approval stage.
Rashad Nabiyev provided information on the creation of the National Data Reservoir, emphasizing that work is continuing on the migration of state information systems to the government cloud and the construction of a new data center. Stating that the service scope of the "mygov" platform has been expanded, with the number of users increasing from 2.7 million to 3.5 million in the last three months, the Minister noted that several applications have already been integrated into the platform, and services of seven more government applications will be made available to citizens by the end of the year.
Emphasizing that one of the main priorities of the action plan is artificial intelligence, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport said that the application of artificial intelligence solutions in "mygov" and other government agencies is being expanded, and a virtual citizen assistant has been launched. Rashad Nabiyev touched upon issues of developing the innovation ecosystem, emphasizing that the creation of the Azerbaijan Sustainability Cluster has begun to bring together companies operating in areas that strengthen technological sovereignty, and spoke about the work being done in the field of cybersecurity. He noted that work is continuing on the creation of the National Security Operations Center, the National Center for Combating Cyber Incidents, and the Digital Investigation Center, as well as the establishment of a unified national cybersecurity platform that will ensure operational information exchange between the public and private sectors.
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Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Department for Economic Issues and Innovative Development Policy of the Presidential Administration, Shahmar Movsumov, briefed the First Vice President on reforms in legislation in the digital sphere. Shahmar Movsumov noted that digital transformation is being consistently implemented as one of the main priority areas of state policy under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. Recalling that the Digital Development Council was established and the "Action Plan for 2026-2028 on accelerating digital development in the Republic of Azerbaijan" was approved by the Decree signed by the head of state in February of this year, Shahmar Movsumov said that complex reforms are being prepared in the direction of forming a modern legislative framework in accordance with the strategic priorities and tasks set in the Council under the leadership of First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva. He emphasized that this is the most comprehensive and fundamental reform initiative implemented in the post-Soviet space in the direction of developing and regulating the digital ecosystem.
Touching upon the areas covered by the reform, Shahmar Movsumov stated that these include ensuring legal certainty, forming a competitive tax environment, financing innovations, research and innovation incentives, attracting talent, expanding market access opportunities, and improving regulation in the field of cybersecurity.
The Assistant to the President stated 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 while preparing the changes.
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Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev briefed the First Vice President on the work carried out and future plans in the direction of the digitalization of education in the country. The Minister touched upon issues such as providing educational institutions with a unified internet network, the "Digital School" project, the digitalization of data across education levels, and the electronization of educational documents, stating that the digitalization of teaching is planned as the next stage.
Emin Amrullayev also noted the "Digital Skills" and "STEAM Azerbaijan" projects implemented in schools for the development of students' digital skills, emphasizing that ensuring the development of human capital in this direction is also one of the main priorities.
The meeting continued with discussions.
