Azerbaijani official: ICT sector is of high priority
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technologies Elmir Velizade has said the ICT sector is of high priority, citing as proof of this focus the approval of the regulations on an information security center by the President.
Much work is being carried out in this direction in Azerbaijan, which clearly demonstrates that the projects implemented in the ICT sector are very important, Velizade said at a conference dedicated to the Innovation Day held by Microsoft Azerbaijan on Wednesday.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on providing activity of the Information Security Center under the ICT Ministry on Tuesday.
The center will coordinate information infrastructure subjects' activity in the area of cyber security, as well as sharing information on existing and potential e-risks at the nationwide level. The center will also educate the population and provide methodological assistance on cyber security.
According to Velizade, in early February regulations on the e-government portal were endorsed and the Information Technology University was established.
The newly created university aims to shape highly qualified human resources for the creation of information-oriented society in Azerbaijan by training ICT staff.
Earlier chairman of the Legal Reform Center Anar Baghirov said that in connection with declaring 2013 the ICT year in Azerbaijan, special attention will be paid to the fight against cybercrime.
According to the ICT Ministry, the revenues of the Azerbaijani ICT sector exceeded $1.7 billion in 2012, which is 18 percent more than in 2011. The ministry plans to further increase earnings to $8-9 billion by 2020.