Every year on December 6, Azerbaijan celebrates the professional holiday — Day of Communications and Information Technology Workers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which was established by Decree of the President of the country in December 2006, in connection with the 125th anniversary of the creation of telephone communications in the Republic.
At the beginning of 1881, the construction of the first telephone line in Azerbaijan began in Baku, which was put into operation on December 6 of the same year (the length of the line was 6 kilometers), and 5 years later the construction of the first centralized switching network began. In Soviet times, targeted work was carried out in the Republic to develop mail and telegraphs. In 1926, wired radio broadcasting began to function, and in the 1950s, — television.
After the collapse of the USSR, active development of the communications and IT sector began in Azerbaijan, and therefore, in 2004, the Ministry of Communications of the Republic was abolished, on its basis the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies was created, and the IT field, as well as targeted activities in the field of communications, became one of the priorities of the country's development.
«National Strategy on Information and Communication Technologies for the Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2003-2012)», approved by Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan № 1146 dated February 17, 2003, determined the general direction of work in this area.
In February 2017, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the creation of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies. And in the fall of 2021, by order of the President, it was renamed the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport (Azerbaijan). Rəqəmsal İnkişaf və Nəqliyyat Nazirliyi).
Today, this department is responsible for regulating the communications industry and developing information technology in the republic. Its main functions are — development and implementation of a unified state policy and regulation of activities in the field of communications and information technology; creation of information markets; control over the use of the radio frequency spectrum and maintenance of above-ground satellite communication facilities, implementation of the necessary measures to meet the needs of various government agencies, individuals and legal entities to provide communication services and information technology.
The Ministry's responsibilities also include maintaining and regulating the operation of transport, including maritime transport, civil aviation, Azerbaijan Post, telegraph, telephone communications, radio and television broadcasting and high technology (information technology, microelectronics, nano, bio and other innovative knowledge-intensive technologies).
One of the priority areas of activity of the Ministry today is the intensive development of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the country, building partnerships with global IT companies to increase the efficiency of the IT infrastructure of enterprises in Azerbaijan, ensuring IT security in the modern market and maintaining continuity of work processes in this area.