ADB Reviews Regional CORRIDOR Initiative With Azerbaijan's Participation

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering a new regional initiative involving Azerbaijan titled Cross-border Opportunities via Regional Resilience, Infrastructure, Data, and Open Regulations (CORRIDOR), AzerNEWS reports, citing the bank.

Supported by a $1 million grant from the Technical Assistance Special Fund, the project aims to accelerate economic growth, strengthen resilience, and enhance competitiveness across countries in the Asia-Pacific region through the development of regional digital corridors.

In addition to Azerbaijan, the initiative brings together a wide range of countries, including Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, China, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

The CORRIDOR program is designed to promote secure, inclusive, and interoperable cross-border digital transformation within key subregional platforms such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, Greater Mekong Subregion, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, and South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation.

The initiative also serves as an operational mechanism to support preparatory design and regulatory readiness for major projects such as the Asia-Pacific Digital Highway and Connect Asia-Pacific.

Key areas of the project focus on knowledge development, capacity building, and partnerships across five priority pillars:

Expanding regional connectivity and shared digital infrastructure, including fiber-optic networks, data centers, cloud services, and digital public infrastructure;
Promoting trade digitalization and improving supply chain efficiency through the deployment of“smart border systems”;
Aligning regional digital public goods, green data infrastructure, and AI-based systems;
Establishing regional investment mechanisms to support tech entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems;
Harmonizing digital policies and regulations through model laws and regulatory sandboxes in areas such as cybersecurity, data governance, and digital public infrastructure.

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