Harmonizing green economy and cybersecurity crucial for progress, Azerbaijani official says

Azerbaijan has placed the issues of "green economy" and cybersecurity at the forefront of its digital economy development strategy, emphasizing the importance of striking a balance between these two aspects for overall progress, Sahib Alakparov, Deputy Minister of Economy, said at the "International Cybersecurity Days" (ICSD-2024) conference in Baku, according to Report.

Despite seeming disparate at first glance, these two areas are closely intertwined, the official said.

"The Ministry of Economy has been tasked with developing and implementing a digital economy development strategy as part of Azerbaijan's socio-economic development strategy," Alakparov explained.

"In line with this document, the Ministry, along with other relevant government bodies, is conducting serious work on establishing information and cybersecurity laboratories under a public-private partnership project," he said.

The official noted that as the "green economy" evolves, initiatives such as creating "green jobs," adopting a circular economic model, tightening environmental standards, and increasing investments in new technologies are gaining prominence. This necessitates a greater focus on personal data protection, critical infrastructure security, defense against cyberattacks, and ensuring the reliability of digital systems.

Alakparov highlighted that special attention is being paid to ensuring information security and cybersecurity while implementing large-scale infrastructure projects in the Karabakh and East Zangazur economic regions.

The expansion of the digital economy in Azerbaijan, management of large data volumes, application of artificial intelligence solutions, implementation of "smart city" and "smart village" projects in the Internet of Things domain, development of digital marketing, drones, and robotics are all creating favorable conditions for building a "green economy," the deputy minister said.

"To achieve successful and sustainable implementation of all these, it is necessary to expand the infrastructure in the field of information security and cybersecurity, develop human resources, and increase attention to the application of technological solutions," the deputy minister noted.