Academician Rasim Alguliyev: “The head of state’s address at the ANAS anniversary defined the key directions of Azerbaijan’s scientific and intellectual doctrine

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, speaking at the event marking the 80th anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), highly praised the work of the country’s scientists and set out important tasks for the Azerbaijani scientific community.

Academician Rasim Alguliyev, Vice-President of ANAS and Director General of the Institute, provided this information at the meeting of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Information Technology of the Ministry of Science and Education.

Academician Rasim Alguliyev stated that President Ilham Aliyev’s speech at the assembly dedicated to the 80th anniversary of ANAS has been remembered as a landmark event in the country’s scientific and cultural life. The Director General of the Institute noted that this prestigious event, which brought together 44 scholars and scientific representatives from 21 countries along with Azerbaijan, is a clear indication of the high value placed on the science, intellectuals, and national intellectual potential of independent Azerbaijan.

According to the scholar, the President, in his speech, referred to the challenges ANAS faced over its 80-year period of activity and emphasized that, despite the pressures of various ideological and political systems, National Leader Heydar Aliyev succeeded in preserving the scientific environment and, starting from the 1970s, consistently strengthened the Academy’s material and technical base while implementing measures to train highly qualified scientific personnel. Academician Rasim Alguliyev added that in 1971, National Leader Heydar Aliyev, considering the broad application of information technologies in public administration essential, initiated the establishment of the Department of Automated Control Systems (now the Institute of Information Technology) within the Institute of Cybernetics and played a significant role in its formation.

The Director General of the Institute emphasized that after the National Leader’s return to political power for the second time and the restoration of Azerbaijan’s independence, the progress achieved across all sectors gave a significant impetus to scientific activity as well. Scientists have played an active role in studying various sectors of the economy and the country’s underground and surface resources, and significant steps have been taken to strengthen the institutional foundations of science. He noted that against the backdrop of complex geopolitical processes, increasing risks, and ongoing wars in the modern world, a completely new reality has taken shape in our country: “The liberation of our lands from occupation and the full restoration of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev have created broad opportunities for further strengthening the defense power of our state.”

He noted that against the backdrop of the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies in recent years, consistent steps have been taken in this field in our country, with strategic documents adopted and new tasks identified. Academician Rasim Alguliyev noted that the “Concept of Digital Development in the Republic of Azerbaijan,” approved in January of this year, and the “Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2025–2028,” adopted in March, serve as strategic roadmaps defining the country’s digital transformation course, emphasizing that the state policy implemented in this direction contributes to strengthening Azerbaijan’s technological sovereignty.”

According to the scholar, the deepening of global digitalization processes and the formation of the digital state and its various components create new opportunities while also generating certain risks. For this reason, President Ilham Aliyev, in his address, underscored the strategic importance of ensuring national cybersecurity, drawing attention to the necessity of sustainably safeguarding Azerbaijan’s security in both the physical and virtual domains and stressing the need for substantial measures to strengthen the country’s cyber immunity.

Academician Rasim Alguliyev noted that cybersecurity issues encompass not only technological domains but also fundamental values such as language and culture. The scholar recalled that, in this context, the Azerbaijani language was enshrined for the first time in the Constitution in 1978 through a special provision introduced on the initiative of National Leader Heydar Aliyev. He stated that President Ilham Aliyev, at the anniversary event of ANAS, also regarded the protection of the Azerbaijani language as a matter of national security and emphasized once again that fulfilling this responsibility is one of the fundamental duties of the independent Azerbaijani state.

The director general of the institute stated that “protecting the Azerbaijani language is a nationwide duty that falls not only on linguists but also on specialists working in the field of information and communication technologies,” noting that the institute is conducting comprehensive research to safeguard the interests of the Azerbaijani state in cyberspace. He stated that one of the main directions of the cyber-sovereignty research carried out at the Institute of Information Technology is the development of the Azerbaijani language ecosystem and its subsystems within the digital state, as well as the conduct of fundamental studies to ensure the technological basis of the language’s linguistic sovereignty.

The director general of the institute stated that one of the key issues emphasized in the president’s speech is ensuring close coordination and sustained cooperation between state institutions and research organizations. Academician Rasim Alguliyev stated that the adopted strategic documents set new targets for both state institutions and the scientific community, and that the Institute of Information Technology approaches the implementation of its responsibilities within this framework with a high sense of responsibility. According to the scholar, strengthening cooperation between state institutions and research organizations is of particular importance for enhancing the country’s intellectual potential and restructuring national resources in line with the interests of the state and society. Academician Rasim Aliguliyev added that assessing existing capacities in this field, identifying challenges, and examining the real demands of the labor market on a scientific basis are among today’s key priorities.

The Vice President of ANAS stated that every institute employee should base their activity plans for the coming year on the priorities voiced by President Ilham Aliyev in strategic documents and in his address marking the 80th anniversary of ANAS. He added that all research conducted at the institute on artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and cybersecurity must align with new requirements and national strategic priorities. To this end, it is essential to reassess the tasks set by the President for research institutions and ensure their accurate incorporation into activity plans.

Academician Rasim Alguliyev said that “the country’s scientific community should actively promote the policy implemented by President Ilham Aliyev and become one of the ideological pillars of the nation’s technological development course,” adding that scientists bear important responsibilities, including conducting research and responsibly fulfilling the public mission inherent to the Azerbaijani intellectual community. “It is the moral duty of each of us to act in a manner worthy of the title of scientist,” the scholar emphasized.

Academician Rasim Aliguliyev stated in conclusion that the policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev, the strategic state documents he has adopted, and his address at the anniversary of ANAS have defined the key directions of Azerbaijan’s scientific and intellectual doctrine. Therefore, every research institution, including the Institute of Information Technology, must reorganize its activities in accordance with these requirements.

The head of the department at the institute, Professor and corresponding member of ANAS Masuma Mammadova; the head of the department at the institute and corresponding member of ANAS Ramiz Aliguliyev; the executive director of the institute, Associate Professor and PhD in Technical Sciences Rashid Alekperov; and the head of the department at the institute, Associate Professor and PhD in Technical Sciences Farhad Yusifov also spoke at the event and expressed their views on the ideas voiced by the head of state at the ceremony dedicated to the 80th anniversary of ANAS. They noted that the president underscored the importance of developing science in the country, modernizing the academic environment, and supporting innovation-oriented research. The speakers also noted that this strategic approach has created conditions for further clarifying the institute’s future activity priorities in areas such as artificial intelligence, digitalization, and cybersecurity.

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