Baku, Ankara mull expanding ties in cybersecurity, human capital development

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and Turkey have discussed issues of cooperation in cyber security, government cloud, and human capital development sectors, Azernews reports.

The discussion took place during a meeting between Azerbaijan's Digital Development and Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev and President of the Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency of Turkiye Ali Taha Koch, who is on a visit to Baku.

Speaking about hosting the Teknofest Aerospace and Technology Festival in Azerbaijan in 2022, the parties noted that it is yet another successful example of historic friendship, brotherhood, and strategic partnership between the two countries.

The parties emphasized that the participation of President Ilham Aliyev and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the festival and the personal awarding of the winners of the competitions are an indication of the highest level of support for the Teknofest Azerbaijan event, as well as the activities of young people in the field of technology.

Noting the successful cooperation between Digital Development and Transport Ministry with the Digital Transformation Office, the sides added that the legal basis for this cooperation is the Roadmap of the Azerbaijani-Turkish Working Group on Digital Transformation, signed in Baku last September.

It should be noted that the agreement to establish the Azerbaijani-Turkish Working Group on Digital Transformation was reached during a meeting held on February 18, 2021, in Ankara between Rashad Nabiyev and Ali Taha Koch.

Azerbaijan and Turkey collaborate in a variety of economic sectors and have completed major energy and infrastructure projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP.

Turkey imports Azerbaijani natural gas through the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) and TANAP. Azerbaijan supplies gas to Turkey only from the Shah Deniz field.

In 2021, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, which focuses on defense cooperation, promoting regional stability and prosperity, and establishing new transportation routes.

The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. As of 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.6 billion. So far, Turkey is Azerbaijan’s second-largest investor followed by the UK.

Additionally, Turkey was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.