BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 10. Azerbaijan is
working to attract international hyperscalers and develop data
center infrastructure, including within the Alat Free Economic
Zone, Executive Director of the Center for Analysis and
Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), Fariz
Jafarov said, Trend’s
correspondent at the event reports.


He made the statement at the event “Technovation – Science and
Innovation for Sustainable Economic Transformation,” organized by
the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan)
in Baku.


Jafarov noted that digital solutions create spillover effects
for various sectors of the economy.


“When we talk about delivery services, we often perceive them
only as food delivery. However, such platforms create additional
demand for transportation, batteries, financial services, and
logistics infrastructure,” he said.


F. Jafarov added that digitalization helps improve business
efficiency.


“Digital solutions make it possible to reduce costs and increase
company productivity – up to a 50% increase in efficiency and a
more than 20% reduction in costs,” he noted.


According to him, one of the key areas of the digital strategy
is the development of human capital and staff retraining
programs.


He cited data from the World Economic Forum, which suggests that
the introduction of artificial intelligence could lead to changes
in a significant number of jobs while simultaneously creating new
professions.


Moreover, Jafarov highlighted the implementation of educational
programs in partnership with the Coursera platform, through which
tens of thousands of Azerbaijani citizens have gained access to
online training in various fields, including artificial
intelligence and engineering disciplines.







“More than 110,000 people have already received certificates,
and thousands of courses have been translated into Azerbaijani,” he
said.


He also noted that citizens of all ages, from young people to
seniors, are participating in the programs.


F. Jafarov announced an agreement with OpenAI under which more
than 100,000 students in Azerbaijan will gain access to educational
programs in the field of artificial intelligence.


He added that the government is collaborating with Microsoft and
LinkedIn to expand educational and workforce development
initiatives.


According to him, the government also plans to support citizens
who obtain international professional certifications, subject to
certain conditions.


Furthermore, Jafarov pointed out that in terms of
infrastructure, work is underway to attract international
hyperscalers and develop data centers, including within the Alat
Free Economic Zone.


The official added that Azerbaijan is considering the
possibility of using the infrastructure being developed not only
for the domestic market but also to provide services to countries
in the region.