The Minister of Information and Communications Technology Seyed Sattar Hashemi and the Iraqi Ambassador to Iran Yasser Abdulzahra Al-Hajjaj met in Tehran on Sunday, exchanging views on tapping the potentials to expand bilateral relations and to develop joint ICT projects.
The meeting took place prior to
the upcoming visit of the Iraqi Minister of Communications Mustafa Jabbar Sanad
to Iran next week, following the Iranian ICT minister’s visit to Baghdad in
July.
Hashemi referred to the
deep-rooted relations between neighboring Iran and Iraq and described the
fostering of ICT cooperation as an important area for strengthening bilateral
ties.
“The existing capacities of the
two countries in communications, emerging technologies and the digital economy
could provide a basis for defining new areas of cooperation and implementing
joint projects,” he noted.
Expressing Iran’s readiness to
share its experience and achievements with the Iraqi side, he added that the
development of communications infrastructure, digital services, the digital
economy, cybersecurity and emerging technologies are among the areas in which
cooperation between the two countries could be expanded.
The ICT Minister also stressed
the role of technology companies and the private sector in strengthening such a
cooperation.
Hashemi welcomed the forthcoming
visit of his Iraqi counterpart to Tehran, describing his participation in the Iran
ELECOMP 2026 Exhibition as an opportunity to gain first-hand familiarity with
the capabilities and potential of Iranian companies in the field of ICT.
“The visit could serve as a starting
point for more specialized discussions and for drawing up a roadmap for future
cooperation between the two ministries,” he said.
Noting that interaction between
the two countries in the communications sector had followed an upward trend in
recent years, Hashemi stressed the need to continue specialized consultations between
Iran and Iraq.
“Iran’s Ministry of ICT is ready,
within the framework of bilateral agreements, to facilitate greater
participation and activity by Iranian companies in the Iraqi market, as well as
to promote technological cooperation between the private sectors of the two
countries,” Hashemi noted.
Baghdad supports technology cooperation
with Tehran
Iraq’s Ambassador to Tehran
Yasser Abdulzahra Al-Hajjaj, for his part, emphasized the importance of
relations between Iran and Iraq, describing the expansion of cooperation in ICT
as an important avenue for broadening the two countries’ economic and
technological ties.
“Iraq welcome the expansion of
relations with Iran in the field of ICT. The existing potential for cooperation
should be activated more extensively,” he said.
Referring to Iraqi Communications
Minister Mustafa Jabbar Sanad’s upcoming visit to Tehran, Al-Hajjaj said it would
provide an opportunity to discuss areas of cooperation between the two
ministries and to familiarize the Iraqi side with Iran’s technological
capabilities.
“We hope that the Iraqi
minister’s participation in the ELECOMP exhibition would lead to the
establishment of new links between companies and industry players from the two
countries,” the Iraqi envoy added.