Education, Social, Infrastructure, Government, Legislation, Economy, Cultural, Scientific-Technical and Industrial, Information Security

Education - modernisation, training, ICT literacy

Social - ICT access, poverty reduction, environmental protection, gender issues

Infrastructure - modernisation, networks, competition, tariff policy

Government - administration, participation, documentation, electoral processes

Legislation - licensing, standards, database

Economy - e-commerce, ICT application, environment

Cultural - national heritage protection, cultural development, promotion of Azerbaijan internet

Scientific-Technical and Industrial - ICT industry development, ICT services, training, company development

Information Security - national security development, electronic information rights

This summary is part of a research project carried out between March and October 2006 in support of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), one of The Communication Initiative (The CI)'s partners.

The Republic of Azerbaijan appears to be acutely conscious of the possible effects of the ‘digital divide’ - the divide between the country and the rest of the world and the divide within Azerbaijan between the rural population and those living in the city. The report expresses high hopes for the benefits of embracing information and communication technology (ICT) as “there is no doubt that the way to the information society is the way leading to the future of human civilisation.”

Analysis of the country’s telecommunication infrastructure, including legislation, hardware and software, information resources and services, suggests that initial conditions exist for accelerating the building of the country’s information society. Positive factors include high levels of literacy and education among the population, countrywide existence of appropriate conditions of internet use, and the existence of a growing national private telecommunication operators sector. Negative factors include a lack of knowledge of the extent or expertise of state involvement, limited legislation, and limited state resources including funds to devote to implementation and expansion of the ICT applications in the country.

The report views the proposed ICT strategy as an opportunity to further good relations between the government and citizens through following principles of transparency, equality, innovation, central and local government collaboration and international co-operation. The successful movement towards the information society is seen to be only possible through collaboration between government and citizens, including minority groups. Progress to date is seen as “the first step on a long historical path."

According to the report, the overall goal of the policy is to “assist the country’s democratic development and to create a favourable environment for the transition to the information society” through the wide application of ICT. This is to be achieved through dedicated legislation; improved education and medical services; opportunities for citizens and institutions to gain access to and disseminate information; enhancing the county’s economic, social and intellectual potential; and by eliminating the digital divide.

The implementation of this strategy is expected to result in transparency within state administration, sustainable economic growth, improved living standards of the population, unified information exchange, easy access to information, and the integration of the country into the international information society. ICT is also seen to be one of the main indicators of the state’s military-political and social-economic potential. Building the information society is seen as a complex process, which includes organisational, socio-economic, scientific-technical, technological and mostly political factors.

The state is seen to be the key player in creating favourable conditions for building the information society, with its role including: analysing and regulating information technology (IT) activities, creating the national and state information systems, creating new environments to attract foreign and local investment, protection of civil rights and enhancing international cooperation.