New WB initiative gets underway in Azerbaijan

Implementation of the “Portal of development – Azerbaijan” project, initiated by the World Bank within the framework of international project “Portal of global development”, has started in Azerbaijan. Display version of the portal will be established within the next 6 months (www.gateway.az). The portal will operate in Azeri and English languages and contain renewable information sections.

The sections will cover key conceptual topics such as politics, economics, culture, etc. The final version of the portal will contain a total of 150 thematic directions.

A working group will also study the needs and maturity of the Azerbaijan society for the use of the global network, design a series of Internet projects, etc.

Work on the project started thanks to the WB grant of $50,000 signed on February 13, 2001 with the private company “Flexible Solutions”, a member of the “Portal of development – Azerbaijan” initiative group.

The group, set up in September 2000, includes 20 organizations representing state, private and public sectors. In November, the group won the WB “InfoDev” program grant in a tough competition of 7 countries, including Romania, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The result was largely thanks to the support on part of the President’s office.

The key mission of the WB “Portal of global development” project is to facilitate the development of NIS, introduce advanced information technologies and provide the low-income population with Internet access.

Practical implementation of the project, which will encompass 50 countries, will start in 2003.*