Minister: Armenian aggression hinders development of innovations in region

By Ayya Lmahamad

Armenia’s aggression hinders the development of innovations in the region, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Ramin Guluzade has said.

The minister made the remarks during the opening ceremony of InnoWeek.Uz 2020, the ministry reported in its website on November 5.

The minister reminded that as a result of Armenia’s ballistic missile attacks on Azerbaijan’s residential areas located far from the conflict zone, civilians were killed and seriously injured, and civilian infrastructure was damaged.

Moreover, touching upon the coronavirus pandemic, the minister stated that COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the situation in the world, while innovative technologies have played an important role in combating it.

Guluzade underlined that the development of innovations is one of the main priorities of state policy of Azerbaijan.

“It is no coincidence that the Innovation Agency was established under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies by the Decree of President Ilham Aliyev. One of our main goals is to create a dynamic innovation system in our country that serves to turn ideas into products and bring them to the market,” he said.

He emphasized that currently the Innovation Agency provides support to startups in the implementations of their ideas. Thus, there are technoparks, business incubators, industrial zones, industrial districts and foundations in Azerbaijan. In addition, residents are provided with tax and customs privileges.

“Since 2018, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies has been annually holding innovation weeks – InnoWeek, innovation festivals – InnoFest, as well as startup tours “I2B – From Idea to Business” covering the  regions  of the country. Last year, the ministry also established the Azerbaijan Innovation Award. The purpose of this award is to stimulate active participants in the innovation ecosystem in our country,” the minister added.

Stressing the importance of international cooperation for the development of innovations, the minister stated that Uzbekistan also plays special attention to the development of innovation, noting the need to create a regional platform for both bilateral and multilateral cooperation in this area.

He emphasized that through such a platform, it is possible to create a single database on the innovation ecosystem, create a regional startup portal and a single online learning platform. In addition, it is possible to organize joint acceleration and exchange program for startups, and interact by creating a network of venture funds and angel investors.

The International Week of Innovative Ideas- InnoWeek.Uz, organized by the Ministry of Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, was launched for the first time in online format on November 3.

The event was attended by specialists in science and innovation of leading international organizations and companies from over 30 countries.

It should be noted that within the framework of InnoWeek.Uz-2020,  the International Innovation and Investment Forum, International Innovation Exhibition, International Robotics Challenge, Joint Regional Seminar, International Youth Innovation Forum, webinar with the participation of experts from the European Union – Horizon Europe, presentation of the Development Bank platform, the presentation of the badge “Leader of Innovative Ideas” and  awarding the winners of the competition for the best article on the topic “Science and Development” will take place.