The Minister of Information and Communication Technology Seyed Sattar Hashemi urged the Parliament to allocate the resources required by the ICT Ministry in implementing its projects notably the domestic messenger platforms.
Hashemi made the statement in a meeting on Wednesday with members of the Parliamentary Commission on Cultural Affairs during which he stressed the government’s determination to develop the national information network and support domestic platforms.
Also present in the meeting were representatives of domestic messenger platforms to review the implementation process of the Seventh Development Plan Law and evaluate the support provided to the local platforms.
The lawmakers were presented with the ICT Ministry’s report on the measures to support the domestic messenger platforms during the Israel-US aggression against Iran.
Hashemi elaborated on the Ministry's measures adopted to maintain the stability of the communication network and continue providing services to the people during the imposed war.
"The government has been and is seriously pursuing the development of the national information network and supporting domestic messengers, because believing in domestic power is one of the main approaches of the Government of President Masoud Pezeshkian."
He also referred to the new conditions emerging in the field of ICT including the development of the use of artificial intelligence and the increase in the country's infrastructure needs.
The ICT Minister called for a review of the National Information Network Master Plan and said: "The National Information Network, along with the Internet, can meet the needs of the people.”
“This issue should not be limited to a few networks or messengers,” he stressed.
Hashemi said the costs of developing communication infrastructure and local services are increasing and called for the support of the MPs to provide the required resources and allocate funds to support domestic messengers.
It was decided to hold a joint meeting with the participation of members of the Parliament’s Cyberspace Commission, senior directors of ICT Ministry, representatives of the private sector, and other stakeholders in the field of ICT, in order to examine various aspects of supporting domestic messenger platforms and to receive experts’ views.