Deputy Minister: Azerbaijan's oil, gas trade doubled over past 20 years

Over the past 20 years, Azerbaijan's oil and gas trade has doubled with $213 billion invested in the sector, Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Alakbarov said at the opening ceremony of the ASAN AI Hub under the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of Azerbaijan (ASAN Service), Report informs.

Alakbarov stated that this can be considered one of the key indicators of Azerbaijan's rising global competitiveness: "Under the order of President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijan 2030: Socio-Economic Development Strategy identified sustainable and competitive economic growth as one of the country's five national priorities. In this context, accelerating the transition to a digital economy and applying new technologies are among the main strategic goals."

The deputy minister added that the Digital Economy Development Strategy, prepared within this framework, is currently in its final approval stage and aims to accelerate Azerbaijan's digital transformation: "The strategy covers more than 50 initiatives and projects, including the technological transformation of businesses, the development of competitive human capital, and the transition of governance to data-driven models. The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, approved this year, sets the goal of ensuring the responsible and ethical application of AI, as well as sustainable development of the economy in this field."