On March 6 of this year, a ceremony was held for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Academy of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASCCA) and the Association of Cybersecurity Organisations of Azerbaijan (ACOA). In attendance at the ceremony were Gulu Novruzov, the Chief of the ASCCA and the Major-General of the customs service, Turgut Valiyev, the head of the Cybersecurity Department of the State Customs Committee, Elvin Balajanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ACOA, Rauf Cabarov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of ACOA, members of the ACOA Board of Directors - CEO and founder of "Simbrella” Seymur Mammadov and the Marketing Director of "A2Z Technologies” Malik Rashidov. The employees from both the Association and the Academy also attended the ceremony.
Welcoming the guests, Gulu Novruzov, the Chief of the Academy, emphasised the importance of IT in state security, highlighting the effective collaboration between the Academy and cybersecurity companies in this direction. He also touched upon the crucial issues related to the training of the new generation, as emphasised by the President Ilham Aliyev during the inauguration ceremony, the main goal of the Academy is to create an excellent educational environment to meet the demands of the labor market by training professional personnel. Gulu Novruzov particularly emphasised the vital role of the IT sector during the 44-day Patriotic War, stating that the collaboration established in this direction will contribute significantly to the development of education in Azerbaijan, in general.
Subsequently, Elvin Balajanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ACOA, provided information about the activities undertaken in legal, organisational, and scientific-technical fields to strengthen Azerbaijan's cybersecurity ecosystem, as well as the steps taken by the Association in various areas. He noted that the effective implementation of measures outlined in the Action Plan of the "The Strategy of Azerbaijan Republic on information security and cyber security for 2023-2027" as well as ensuring the security of critical information infrastructure, requires the rapid expansion of the country's human resources potential. The Chairman of ACOA's Board of Directors highlighted that mutual collaboration in relevant areas between ASCCA and ACOA will be beneficial for both parties.
Speaking at the meeting, Turgut Valiyev, the head of department at the State Customs Committee, mentioned the importance of cybersecurity in the modern era, noting that the Committee has implemented sufficient digital solutions in recent years and expressing the hope for the success of the established collaboration.
Later, a presentation was delivered on the topic of “Preparation of Personnel in Higher Education Institutions for Cybersecurity: Problems and Perspectives”.
Other attendees also highlighted the significant increase in demand for professionals in the field of cybersecurity in our modern era, emphasising the importance of expanding cooperation in this direction among higher education institutions in our country that are engaged in cybersecurity training.
Following the discussions, Gulu Novruzov, the Chair of the Academy of the State Customs Committee (ASCCA), and Elvin Balajanov, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Cybersecurity Organisations of Azerbaijan (ACOA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding For Cooperation.
The Memorandum includes provisions for joint organisation of training and education, joint activities to meet future workforce needs, support for the development of students' knowledge, skills, professionalism, and worldviews, and other relevant matters.
