News

At the initiative of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency (IDDA), the latest meeting of the “Digital Leadership” Program was held in Shamakhi on October 8–9, 2026. The event brought together nearly 50 senior digital governance officials from more than 40 institutions to exchange views on priority topics arising from the “2026–2028 Action Plan for Accelerating Digital Development in the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

In his opening remarks, Shahin Aliyev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of IDDA, welcomed the participants and noted that significant progress had been made in digital development in Azerbaijan in recent years. “At the level of the country’s leadership, strategic documents covering digital development, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity individually have been approved. Significant results have been achieved in these areas, and this positive momentum has contributed to improving Azerbaijan’s positions in international rankings, including the UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI), the National Cyber Security Index, the Global Innovation Index, and the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index.”

Shahin Aliyev also highlighted the specific steps to be taken in the coming years to advance digital development, particularly the priorities set out in the “2026–2028 Action Plan for Accelerating Digital Development in the Republic of Azerbaijan.” In line with the Action Plan, Digital Roadmaps have been developed in coordination with government institutions. Key performance indicators (KPIs), planned measures, and the officials responsible for this area within each institution have also been identified.

Over the two-day program, panel discussions were held on budgeting, KPI cards and indicative planning, as well as the digitalization of public services. The first panel emphasized the importance of ensuring alignment among strategic documents, Roadmaps, annual plans, budgets, KPIs, and indicative planning. Participants also highlighted the need to define indicators accurately from the outset and to clearly specify baseline indicators and data sources.

The panel discussion held on the second day focused on the digitalization of public services. Participants discussed best practices from various government institutions, approaches currently being implemented, service development priorities, and existing challenges. Proposals for delivering digital services more efficiently and in a more user-oriented manner were put forward, followed by an extensive exchange of views.

In addition, the program featured presentations on “Changes to the Digital Data Exchange Subsystem and Their Management,” “mygov Business: Current Status and Challenges,” and “Legal Reforms on the Path to Digital Development.” The presentations highlighted efforts to improve digital data exchange, the current state of digital services for businesses, newly created opportunities and future development directions, as well as legislative initiatives aimed at strengthening the legal and institutional foundations of digital development, innovation, the startup ecosystem, and venture financing.