Azerbaijan to establish tech park in 2007

According to the United Press International, Ericsson and Volvo are slated to participate in the project by the Azeri-Swedish center for Science and Research, the Azerbaijani news agency Trend quoted the center's director, Bahran Atabeyli, as saying.

"These companies will be arranging the work, and students of (the planned) Technologies University will be working here. Alongside Swedish companies, Azeri entities will be involved," Atabeyli said via the news agency.

The news comes days after network giant Cisco Systems' chief executive officer, John Chambers, visited the Southwestern Asian country. Chambers reportedly met with President Ilham Aliyev, Minister of Economic Development Heydar Babayev, Minister of Communication and Information Technology Ali Abbasov and IT industry executives.

Azerbaijan, eager to use its large reserves of oil and natural gas to become a major player in the world energy market, has undertaken efforts toward a quick modernization since its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991.

The country already has a contract with Cisco -- company vice president Robert Agie recently signed an agreement with the country's Education Minister Misir Mardanov.