Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Leading Sweden ICT companies are interested in investments to Azerbaijan's information and communication technologies sector, Swedish Ambassador Mikael Eriksson has said at a meeting with Minister Ali Abbasov in Baku.

According to Eriksson, implementation of the project on high-tech parks and the ICT Development Fund will be an impetus for investments.

The ambassador also put forward an initiative to hold the first Azerbaijani-Swedish ICT business forum in the frame of the 19th Azerbaijan International Telecommunications and Information Technologies Exhibition, BakuTel 2013.

Abbasov stressed the importance of expanding ICT cooperation between the two countries and the Azerbaijani market's openness for Swedish investors.

According to Isfandiyar Aliyev, head of strategic development at the Communications and Information Technologies Ministry, the growth rate of Azerbaijan's ICT sector amounted to 18.2 percent in the first ten months of 2012.

Earlier in December, Minister Abbasov said at an international conference that revenues from the information and communication technologies sector are expected to reach $8-$9 billion by 2020, compared to $1.7 billion in 2011.

Abbasov noted that annual growth rate of the ICT sector should hit 20 percent in order to achieve the outlined goal.

"The results of 10 months of 2012 allow us to say that 20-percent growth rate of the ICT sector will be achieved this year. During the 2009-2011 global crisis, annual growth rate of the sector was 14-15 percent," he said.

The volume of investments in the ICT sector of Azerbaijan will be $1.3 billion in the near future, Abbasov added.

Investments in the domestic ICT sector are predicted to reach 300 million manats ($382 million) in 2012, whereas the figure was $415 million in 2011. By 2020, the volume of investments made in ICT is expected to reach $800 million.

According to Abbasov, private sector investments in ICT will be $3-4 billion in the next ten years.