​Ali Abbasov: TASIM to be as big as TANAP

Baku. 9 April. REPORT.AZ/ The Trans-Eurasian Information Super Highway (TASIM), which aims to create a transnational fiber-optic backbone by linking Frankfurt to Hong Kong, will be at least as important as the $10 billion Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Project (TANAP), Azerbaijan’s communication and information technologies minister has said.

Report informs, Azerbaijan’s communication and information technologies minister has said it in an interview with the Turkish edition of Hürriyet Daily News

"When TASIM is implemented, it will be just as important as TANAP", said Abbasov.

“Today Azerbaijan and Turkey are trying to form a relationship apart from oil and natural gas, which is communications,” said Abbasov, adding that the two states were trying to build a business environment in which businessmen would be exempt from taxes and customs procedures.

Abbasov said Turkey and Azerbaijan had a joint project to make the two countries’ markets available for one another’s businessmen and entrepreneurs and open the way for these companies to expand their trade to the world via exports.

“Apart from the energy and transportation means for Turkey and Azerbaijan as a bridge between Europe and Asia, now there will be the communications and information technology means,” he said.

He also stated Turkey and Azerbaijan’s growing importance in the region, which also attracts the region’s surrounding countries to pay attention to the same issues.

TASIM is slated to become a major new transit fiber-optic route from Frankfurt to Hong Kong, which will pass through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan,Georgia and Turkey all the way to Germany. A redundancy Northern Route passing through Russia,Ukraine and Poland is also being considered.