BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 24. The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) has launched a project focused on using
artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen infrastructure
resilience and support adaptation, with Azerbaijan among the
participating countries.
The project involves ADB member countries, including Azerbaijan,
Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye,
Uzbekistan and other countries across the Asia-Pacific region.
According to the ADB, the project has been allocated $800,000 in
funding from the Technical Assistance Special Fund.
The project is also aimed at strengthening the capacity of ADB
developing member countries to identify, assess and reduce
disaster-related risks. Its implementation is expected to
indirectly help protect poor and vulnerable populations, which are
disproportionately affected by the consequences of natural and
other disasters.
The initiative will use AI capabilities to strengthen
infrastructure resilience and improve approaches to risk
adaptation, the bank said.
According to ADB data, Azerbaijan received $2.53 billion in
sovereign financing for 10 projects from 2015 to 2024. Of this
amount, 51% was allocated to regional cooperation and integration
projects, one of the highest shares among countries in the relevant
group. Another 39% went toward private-sector development, 18%
toward climate financing and 10% toward digital technology
initiatives.
From 2015 to 2024, the bank approved nine nonsovereign projects
totaling $963.9 million, with 100% of the financing directed toward
private-sector development. Notably, 78% of total commitments were
related to regional cooperation and integration, the highest share
among comparable upper-middle-income countries reviewed by the
ADB.
According to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, ADB's direct
investment in Azerbaijan's economy amounted to $2.075 million in
the first quarter of this year. The figure was $455,000, or 28.1%,
higher than in the same period last year.
