Azerbaijan plans new state standards for artificial intelligence, digitalisation
Azerbaijan will adopt new state standards covering artificial intelligence, digitalisation and the green economy, Deputy Chairman Ilgar Hasanov said on 16 October 2026, according to APA.
Azerbaijan plans to adopt new state standards in the fields of artificial intelligence, digitalisation and the green economy, Deputy Chairman of the State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control (Antiinhisar və İstehlak Bazarına Nəzarət Dövlət Xidməti) Ilgar Hasanov said on 16 October 2026 at a media training event marking World Standards Day, according to APA.
What the plan covers
Hasanov said standardisation work would continue in the coming period, taking the country's economic priorities into account. According to APA, he named the fields for new or expanded standards:
- Digitalisation
- Artificial intelligence
- Green economy
- Green energy
- Environmental protection
- Efficient use of resources, including energy efficiency
He added that the next stage would focus on increasing the number of standards, adapting them to the needs of the economy, expanding their accessibility for businesses and promoting their practical application, APA reported.
Standards output is rising
A total of 620 new state standards were adopted in Azerbaijan in January–September 2026, up from 221 a year earlier — a 2.8-fold increase, Hasanov said in a companion briefing reported the same day by APA. Most covered transport (92), food technology and agriculture (62), and furniture (43), APA said.
Azerbaijan's AI standards work began earlier: in July 2025 the Institute of Standardization (AZSTAND), under the same State Service, approved AZS ISO/IEC 42001:2025, a management-system standard covering AI risk, ethics and transparency, implementing the Artificial Intelligence Strategy for 2025–2028 approved by Presidential Decree No. 530 of 19 March 2025, according to Trend News Agency.
Why it matters
Hasanov gave no date or document for the new AI standards, so this is a declared direction, not a published text. It signals that regulators intend to move beyond last year's single AI management-system standard toward a wider set of AI-related technical rules, a step most countries in the Caspian region have not yet taken publicly.
What it means for Azerbaijani companies
Firms building or deploying AI systems in Azerbaijan should expect the compliance bar to extend beyond AZS ISO/IEC 42001:2025 as further standards appear. Because the push sits inside the action plan for the Artificial Intelligence Strategy for 2025–2028, companies already aligning with that strategy have a head start; others should monitor AZSTAND's published lists directly, since Hasanov gave no implementation timeline.
