Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Elmir Velizade has said that the development of high technologies, including the ICT sector, is a priority of state policy in the country.

Velizade made the remarks during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS-2020) initiated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the ministry reported on September 9.

“Projects implemented in our country take into account domestic needs and at the same time provide opportunities for regional access. For example, Azerbaijan, which has successfully implemented a satellite program, primarily provides satellite services for a wide range of countries, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, in addition to meeting national demand,” the minister said during the video conference meeting.

Addressing the virtual ministerial round table, Velizade said that the current coronavirus pandemic has increased the importance of relations and revealed the importance of eliminating the digital divide.

He noted that projects such as EPEG (Europe-Persia Express Gateway) fibre-optic line and TASIM - Trans-Eurasian Super Information Highway serve to reduce the digital divide in the region.

The elimination of the digital divide - the mechanisms of global cooperation to accelerate the digital transition was the main topic of discussion during the meeting.

It should be noted that the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2020 represents the world's largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community, which started to be held from June 22. The WSIS Forum is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD, in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line Facilitators/Co-Facilitators.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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