Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution supporting Azerbaijan's initiative on establishment of Eurasian Alliance (Eurasian Connectivity Alliance - EuraCA) and construction of Trans-Eurasian Information Super Highway (TASIM), the UN said on September 4.

It said the resolution was adopted at the 98th plenary meeting of the General Assembly's 67th session.

Israel, Turkey, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand contributed to the resolution as co-authors.

The initiative envisages enhancing trans-regional cooperation in information and communications technologies, helping governments respond better to the needs and challenges in that sector, attracting the private sector interest and facilitating knowledge-sharing in this field.

Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Elmir Velizade told journalists that the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly is directly related to the implementation of the TASIM project.

According to him, discussions at the UN showed that establishment of EuraCA as well as implementation of the TASIM project completely corresponds to the processes ongoing in the world.

"Firstly, it envisages the strengthening of telecommunication infrastructure and its further development as well as creation of new opportunities and simplification of citizens' access to the field of information. Therefore, there is a need for such projects. Azerbaijan's initiative on the TASIM project has been supported by the UN for the third time, which is a positive aspect," the deputy minister said.

Furthermore, the TASIM project will be presented within the World Economic Forum "Summer Davos", which will be held in Dalian, China on September 11-13.

Earlier, the UN adopted two resolutions on the TASIM project, which serves as a platform for simplifying international cooperation and providing sustainable development with the use of information and communication technologies.

TASIM is a project of regional importance, which aims to lay a transnational fiber-optic line covering the countries of Eurasia from Western Europe to Eastern Asia. The project envisages the creation of a major transit link from Frankfurt, Germany to Hong Kong. The line will combine major centers of information exchange in Europe and Asia. The line will stretch through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to Germany. A reserve North transit line will pass through the territory of Russia, Ukraine and Poland.

On December 21, 2009 a resolution supported by representatives of 30 countries was passed at the 64th plenary meeting of the UN GA for the creation of the TASIM superhighway.

TASIM is a long-term initiative and will be implemented in two stages.

During the first phase leading regional countries and operators will create major Internet transit infrastructure, linking the West and East. The process is planned to be finalized in late 2013.

In the second phase of the project, TASIM is expected to provide the Eurasian countries that do not have direct access to open sea, including Central Asian states, with Internet connection at affordable rates. According to the plan, new fiber-optic lines will be constructed, while the existing lines will be upgraded and linked to the TASIM network.

The TASIM project will contribute to creating an open information society in the region, increasing the speed of Internet connection and promoting the development of Internet services, which, in turn, will lead to economic development, diversification of the economy and increased competition.