On June 1, under the organisation of the Association of Cybersecurity Organisations of Azerbaijan (ACOA), the "III National Cybersecurity Forum" took place, featuring a panel discussion titled "International Cooperation in the Field of Cybersecurity."

Senior officials from Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Romania, and Sweden discussed the role and significance of international cooperation, sector-specific associations, and private and public institutions in the development of the cybersecurity sector and ensuring cybersecurity. Drawing from their own experiences, the speakers shared insights on their potential contributions to the advancement of regional cooperation.

The panel discussions, moderated by Rauf Jabarov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of ACOA, featured several prominent figures: Alpaslan Kesici, Director General of the Turkish Cybersecurity Cluster; Olzhas Satiyev, Founder and Director of Kazakhstan's private "CERT" company "TSARKA"; Gokberk Bicakci, Vice President of Products Management, Cyber&Intelligence Solutions for the EEMEA region at Mastercard; Maksim Iavich, CEO of the Georgian Scientific Cyber Security Association (SCSA); Danut Maftei, Senior Cyber Security Expert at the Romanian National Cyber Security Directorate; and Hasain Alshakarti, Trusted Principal Cyber Security Advisor at Sweden's "TrueSec" company.

Initially, detailed information was provided about the experience of each institution represented by the speakers. This included an overview of the work conducted by the private sector in the participating countries, the steps taken by associations to advance the local sector, and the projects undertaken to develop scientific research directions.

During the panel discussions, several intriguing ideas for enhancing cooperation were presented. Representatives from Turkey and Kazakhstan emphasised the establishment of joint cybersecurity centres among Turkic states, the importance of focusing on and attracting new generation specialists, and leveraging the existing friendly relations between the countries to undertake more intensive work. The speakers highlighted the significance of creating joint projects, events, and discussion platforms in the field of education. Additionally, the role and importance of associations in the development of the cybersecurity sector were discussed, along with the need to grant these organisations additional authorities. The experience of Georgia was noted as particularly interesting, with attention given to the association's practice of testing critical information infrastructure through ethical cyber-attacks. Moreover, it was proposed to increase the number of scientific research projects to thoroughly investigate the sector's challenges.

In conclusion, all panel participants agreed that ensuring cybersecurity within the capabilities of a single country is not feasible and that it is essential to strengthen regional and international cooperation to ensure cybersecurity.