Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Due to Armenia's recent military provocations, ICT and telecommunication infrastructure in several regions of Azerbaijan was either completely destroyed or seriously damaged, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Ramin Guluzade.

Addressing the roundtable on the role of digital technologies during and after the COVID 19 pandemic, co-organized by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and top officials of Vietnam within ITU Virtual Digital World 2020 online event, the minister highlighted that currently Azerbaijan is fighting on two fronts.

"Along with the pandemic, we are taking necessary steps in response to the provocations and aggression of Armenia, which hinder the development of ICT throughout the region,” he noted.

He stressed that in recent days 63 Azerbaijani civilians, including children, died and 293 were wounded as a result of Armenian aggression towards Azerbaijan.

Moreover, during the meeting, the minister stated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital development at the global and national levels, noting the work done in Azerbaijan to combat COVID-19 and minimize the impact of the pandemic.

Guluzade underlined that during the pandemic, citizens were provided with quality transport, postal and telecommunication services, and Internet and mobile communications. It was noted that the sustainability of telecommunications infrastructure was improved in line with demand.

Likewise, the minister noted that government agencies have created new information systems, special websites, and mobile applications used as an information system for citizens, as well as a tracking system for the infected people. He added that during the pandemic, a project to provide video conferencing services for schools and institutions was launched.

At the end of his speech, the minister noted that despite all these difficulties, the Azerbaijani government will continue its efforts to expand development strategies.

Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale operation in the front-line zone on September 27 at 6 am, shelling the positions of the Azerbaijani army from large-calibre weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibres. Armenia has been targeting Azerbaijan’s densely populated areas and infrastructure projects.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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