Deemah Al Yahya: Azerbaijan may become important digital bridge between Europe, Central Asia

Azerbaijan can play a significant role in the development of digital corridors connecting Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, Deemah Al Yahya, Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), said in an interview with Report.

According to her, geography has given Azerbaijan a strategic position between Europe and Asia; digital infrastructure can give that position an entirely new dimension.

"Azerbaijan already has many of the foundations needed to become an important digital bridge. It combines strong digital governance with growing telecommunications and trade infrastructure, while its location places it directly at the intersection of the Caucasus, Central Asia and Europe," she noted.

"We can already see that potential becoming physical infrastructure. Just last month, installation was completed on the 380-kilometre Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable connecting Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Once operational, it is designed to provide more than 400 terabits per second of capacity, creating a new high-capacity data route across the Caspian as part of the Digital Silk Way," she added.

"But Azerbaijan must decide how it wants to build on that advantage. DCO's role is to provide evidence, technical consultation, and international connections, and then help enable the execution of the country's decisions.

The opportunity is to transform Azerbaijan's geographic position into a digital advantage - connecting not only markets and infrastructure, but economies, innovators, and people across regions," she said.

The full text of the interview is available here.