“Georgia has a guaranteed advantage of being able to use existing telecommunications infrastructure, including the submarine Black Sea Fibre-Optic Cable System and various commercial contracts, to actively develop the corridor between Europe and the Middle East via Armenia, thereby positioning itself as a safe and trusted data conductor,” COMCOM member Vakhtang Abashidze stated at the Georgian Cyber Security Forum, which discussed the issue of vulnerability of Black Sea Region countries to cybercrime. Mr. Abashidze spoke about Georgia’s potential and prospective role in the Digital Silk Road project and discussed the country’s unique possibility of establishing itself as a digital hub and data centre.

“Countries of Asia are looking for alternative paths to European internet. Georgia’s potential to play the role of a digital hub and data centre in the Digital Silk Road project is based on the aforementioned Black Sea cable system. Georgia is the only country in this region that has a direct infrastructural border with Europe. We are also part of the international transit route to Armenia and Azerbaijan, who then direct the traffic towards the countries of the Middle East and South Asia. Opening up these two routes to high-capacity internet traffic will create two crucial digital corridors. The first will run from Europe to the Middle East via Georgia and Armenia, while the other will run from Europe through Georgia and Azerbaijan, and then onwards to South Asia. The existing digital infrastructure and international connection points will give Georgia the unique opportunity to gradually enhance its own potential and establish itself as a digital hub. In order to set up the aforementioned corridor, we need to have in place a trans-Caspian connecting route that will run from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan. There are plans to implement this project in the near future,” explained Vakhtang Abashidze.

Mr. Abashidze also spoke about the benefits of Georgia operating as a digital hub. According to him, the country would earn up to half a billion dollars each year during the initial stage, and this number would increase substantially in the future.  

“Tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft will take up 75% of the internet transit market in the region. Georgia will use the submarine Black Sea infrastructure to become part of the digital economy of the future as a technology hub, which would create massive opportunities for our own economy. The existing infrastructure gives us the chance to establish ourselves as a transit point for global data, connecting Europe with Asia and the Middle East. Georgia aims to be a fully-fledged player in this project, rather than an casual bystander,” Mr. Abashidze stated.

Furthermore, Vakhtang Abashidze presented a video clip that illustrates the economic benefits of using the submarine Black Sea infrastructure in a purposeful manner, as well as Georgia’s potential in this context. Click to view the video clip.

Apart from the digital potential and prospects, Mr. Abashidze also highlighted the processes that are currently happening on the telecommunications market, as well as the issue of security and regulation of critical infrastructure. He supplied international organisations with accurate information about the amendments to the Law of Georgia on Electronic Communications.

“On 17 July 2020, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a law that provides COMCOM with additional tools and powers over companies with critical infrastructure in case they stubbornly refuse to comply with legislative requirements or specific duties determined by COMCOM. We have members of our partner countries’ diplomatic corps in attendance today, and I am sure they will agree that there are no precedents in their respective countries for the sale of strategic facilities without state approval. Different authorities may be involved in such transactions in different countries, but the laws are very strict in Europe. Therefore, the changes in the Law on Electronic Communications serve to protect state interests in line with practices of other European countries,” Mr. Abashidze stated.