Participants to East-West information superhighway project determine action plan

The sides interested in the implementation of the East-West information superhighway project signed a protocol suggesting a specific action plan for the next two months, Head of the Working Group on the East-West Project Ilyas Naibov-Aylisli told.
The protocol was signed during a meeting held in Gabala region of Azerbaijan with the participation of the leading telecommunication operators of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and China.According to Naibov-Aylisli, the sides agreed to develop a business concept of the project, the technical proposals on how the project will be implemented. Regarding the latter, some proposals already exist, he said."In general the meeting was very constructive, and all participants showed great interest and desire to work in this project. As a result, a memorandum of understanding was also prepared, which can be signed within 17th Azerbaijan International Telecommunications and Information Technology Exhibition and Conference BakuTel 2011," said Naibov-Aylisli. He said the memorandum is fairly complex document, which should reflect the principles and strategy of the project, the share of participants, and transit policy, transit tariffs, etc.
Countries such as Russia (through operator "Rostelecom"), Kazakhstan (operator "Kazakhtelecom"), Turkey (operator TurkTelecom) and China (operator ChinaTelecom), as well as Azerbaijani operators, have already been attracted to the project. A resolution submitted by Azerbaijan to create an information superhighway was adopted by the U.N. during its sixty-sixth plenary meeting. The organization expressed support for the project, which aims to reduce poverty and increase economic growth. The project will serve as an engine for regional development.

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