BAKU ( WNAM MONITORING ): Pakistan intends to invite Azerbaijan to participate in an auction to allocate 600 MHz of radio spectrum, Pakistan’s Minister of Information Technology, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, told in an interview.
According to her, Pakistan plans to auction approximately 600 MHz of radio spectrum in the next quarter, after which the total available spectrum in the country will exceed 900 MHz.
“Spectrum is the amount of radio frequency resource that Pakistan plans to auction to mobile operators and other telecom companies. This means significantly higher quality of service and better coverage throughout the country. Why is this important for our relations with Azerbaijan? Firstly, the auction is open, and anyone can participate. Therefore, we would like to invite Azerbaijan’s telecom industry to join the upcoming auction. We believe this is an excellent opportunity, as the country, with a population of 240 million, is rapidly digitizing, and data usage is bound to grow. This creates significant business potential for all participants,” said Khawaja.
The minister also noted that Pakistan plans to strengthen undersea connectivity.
“Regarding fiber connectivity and submarine cables, our goal is to diversify international connectivity routes both east and west. Our connection with Azerbaijan is as follows: we aim to make Pakistan a data transit hub. Essentially, we’re talking about reviving the modern Silk Road, which runs from Pakistan through Central Asia and leads to Azerbaijan. We want to explore how we can create direct fiber-optic connectivity, including access to submarine cables, in collaboration with the government of Azerbaijan,” she said.
According to the minister, cooperation between Pakistan and Azerbaijan covers a wide range of areas, including mining and minerals.
“We already have direct flights from both cities, and we are considering expanding them. We believe that transport connectivity is absolutely essential. We are discussing investment in virtually every sector, increasing bilateral trade, and developing cultural ties, which are extremely important to us. Lahore and Islamabad already have direct flights to Baku, and Karachi and other provincial capitals may join them,” Khawaja added.
