Azerbaijan, Baku, April 4 / Trend, A. Akhundov, H.Valiyev /
By 2020, revenues generated by the sector of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Azerbaijan will reach $8-8.5 billion, the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov said, speaking at the presentation of 'The Business Year' magazine on Thursday.
According to the minister, the ICT sector's revenues currently stand at nearly $2 billion.
According to Abbasov, a fourfold increase in revenue will be made possible by increasing the role of the ICT sector in exports and increase of the domestic market.
"As the demand on the domestic market is limited, long-term plans for the development of the sector are associated with the development of exports. Azerbaijan is exporting a range of services in this field to Iran and Georgia, and the geography of exports will continue to grow," Abbasov said.
According to the minister, there is a need for diplomatic support for Azerbaijani companies for their participation in large international IT-projects.
The impetus to the development of the ICT sector in Azerbaijan, according to Abbasov, will be given by the project of broadband Internet implemented with the support of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan. The cost of the project, according to the minister, will amount to 430-440 million manat. Implementation of the project will increase the level of Internet penetration in the country to 85 percent.
The official exchange rate is on April 4 is 0.7846 AZN / USD.