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Akbar Novruz

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a regional project with Azerbaijan aimed at using artificial intelligence to strengthen infrastructure resilience and improve adaptation to disaster risks.

Azerbaijan is among the ADB member countries participating in the initiative, alongside Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan and other countries across the Asia-Pacific region.

The project will receive $800,000 in financing from the ADB's Special Fund for Technical Assistance.

According to the bank, the initiative will use artificial intelligence to improve approaches to infrastructure resilience and risk adaptation while strengthening the capacity of developing member countries to identify, assess and mitigate disaster risks.

“The project also aims to strengthen the capacity of ADB’s developing member countries to identify, assess, and mitigate disaster risks,” the bank said.

ADB added that the initiative is expected to indirectly help protect vulnerable and low-income populations, which are disproportionately affected by natural and other disasters.

Azerbaijan receives $2.53 billion in ADB sovereign financing

The project comes as ADB remains an important development partner for Azerbaijan. Between 2015 and 2024, Azerbaijan received $2.53 billion in sovereign financing for 10 projects from the bank.

Regional cooperation and integration accounted for 51% of this financing, making it one of the largest allocations among Azerbaijan's ADB-supported areas. Private sector development accounted for 39%, climate finance for 18%, and digital technology initiatives for 10%.

During the same period, ADB approved nine non-sovereign projects worth $963.9 million for Azerbaijan, with all of the financing directed toward private sector development.

Regional cooperation and integration accounted for 78% of the commitments under these projects, the highest share among the upper-middle-income peer countries examined by ADB.

ADB direct investment in Azerbaijan rises

According to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, ADB's direct investments in the Azerbaijani economy amounted to $2.075 million in the first quarter of 2026.

This represented an increase of $455,000, or 28.1%, compared with the same period of the previous year.