Azerbaijan leads region in ICT
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan has become a leader among the countries of the region for the space technologies development, said Ramin Guluzade, acting minister of communications and high technologies.
He made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the BakuTel 2015 - International Telecommunications and Information Technologies Exhibition and Conference that will be open to December 5.
Over the years, BakuTel has acquired the status of main business event, where new IT-products and services demonstrated, and strong contacts and new businesses are created.
“Information and communication technologies sphere of Azerbaijan, which is one of the leading countries for the economic development rate, carries great responsibility,” said Guluzade.
He pointed out that the ICT has been named as a priority sphere by Azerbaijan’s president.
Noting that Azerbaijan is known as a leader in the region for its latest achievements and development of the ICT sphere, he said comprehensive reforms are carried out in the country.
Guluzade further noted that the traditional BakuTel exhibition and conference has turned into an important international event in the ICT sphere.
He added that over 21 years, the exhibition has become a platform to exchange experience, show the new opportunities and to ensure large-scale cooperation. Over these years, the participants of the exhibition have witnessed enhancing economic opportunities and scientific and technological achievements.
The acting minister voiced confidence that the Bakutel-2015 exhibition will be held at a high level and will give a new impetus to the development of the ICT sphere in the region.
On the first day of the exhibition, Azerbaijan’s satellite operator Azercosmos and the French company Arianespace signed a contract for the launch of the second telecommunication satellite of Azerbaijan – Azerspace-2 / Intelsat 38.
Arianespace has won the tender of Azercosmos to put into orbit the second telecommunications satellite in 2017. In 2013, the company has already launched the Azerbaijani first satellite Azerspace 1.
The exhibition is one of the indicators of the ICT development program in the country, contributing to the integration into the global information space, production of domestic ICT products and creation of a modern information and communication infrastructure.
This year the exhibition brought together 203 companies from 21 countries, including Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Germany, UAE, Russia, USA, Turkey, France, Japan and others. Fifteen percent of the participants are new companies from abroad interesting in the ICT area in Azerbaijan.
The exhibition traditionally presents industry news, pointing out how the high tech industry will develop in the near future. Several workshops will be organized at the exhibition.
Visitors can use special free buses running to the Baku Expo Center and back every hour from the metro station Koroglu.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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