“Digital Silk Way project”

One of the major projects under the first phase of “Azerbaijan Digital Hub” program is the “Digital Silk Way” project which encompasses the establishment of digital telecommunication corridor between Europe and Asia.

Located on the historic Silk Road, the Republic of Azerbaijan, known as a center of the North-South and East-West transport corridors, now has ample opportunities to create a digital silk road between the West and the East.

The project, implemented under the program, envisages the transfer of digital content and Internet services from European Internet centers to Asian countries via Azerbaijan.

The project will put Azerbaijan in a central position in the telecommunications corridor, transmitting Internet services and content from major content operators such as Google, Amazon, Allibaba, Netflix, Facebook and others. In the future with the establishment of the Internet Exchange Center in Baku, the country will transmit these contents, as well as internet traffic to the Central and South Asia, and other neighboring countries in the region.

It is worth noting that the "Digital Silk Way" project is in the focus of attention of OTS. In this view, Samarkand Declaration signed on the conclusions of IX Summit held in Samarkand, the capital of Uzbekistan on November 11 of last year, emphasizes the importance of the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable infrastructure project within the “Digital Silk Way”, which will enhance the cooperation among the Member States, and continuation of activities on improving the IT infrastructure in the implementation of this project.

"Strategy of the Organization of Turkic States for 2022-2026" defines as a priority task the accelerating the implementation of the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable line under the Caspian Sea, laying a fiber-optic internet line between Europe and Asia that will have a high transmission capacity.

The “Digital Silk Way” project is a strategically important project for all countries of the region which will meet the transit needs between Europe and Asia via Azerbaijan. The project was selected as one of the five best strategic infrastructure projects in Asia at the “Global Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum” in the United States.

AzerTelecom is a leading wholesale telecommunications operator in Azerbaijan. The company is a part of NEQSOL Holding, an international group of companies operating across various industries and countries.