The international sanctions as well as nonprofessional internet filtering in Iran as great impediments startups deal with in the country, Information and Communication Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi the 24th Iran International Exhibition of Electronics, Computer & E-commerce (ELECOMP 2018) on Saturday morning.

“I have a clear message for those who want to stop Iranian young generation in international level. No closed door can stop Iranian young generation,” he said, which was welcomed by audience applaud.

Economic favoritism never ever solve any problem in Iran hence let the young generation solve our problems through digital transformation, he added.

He pointed to Iran’s ranking in the United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI 2018), which moved up 20 points to reach 86 amongst 193 countries in comparison with EGDI 2017.

“We plan to establish smart cities through agreements signed with Iranian municipalities in near future,” he said.

He said that ICT ministry plans to improve technological advancement in other fields including health in near future.

Technology will be the solution to solve different social and environmental challenges surrounding us in today world, this is the gist of the opening address by Azari Jahromi at ELECOMP 2018 on Saturday morning.

Beginning with a memoir from his childhood in his hometown Jahrom in southern Fars Province, he said that he and his citizens have always been concerned about water shortage due to nature of their city.

“Water shortage was always one of my personal concerns and I am always eager to find a solution to deal with this problem,” he said.
He called ‘digital economy’ as the best response to the problems, which today world proposes to solve.

‘Digital economy is the fourth industrial revolution which is happening in today world,” he described.

In all parts of the world, renewable energy and resources are decreasing gradually and do not meet the need of population, he said.

“We can control this problem with increasing efficiency and this is possible through information technology (IT) and making smart systems,” he said.
He pointed to water shortage, air pollution, environmental problems, banking system and cumbersome bureaucracy as some of the problems people deal with during their daily life in Iran.

Globally speaking, governments never can solve such challenges hence government involvement should be replaced with solutions proposed by young people in the form of startups, he said.

With the help of young generations and establishment of startups a country would be able to develop efficiency in different fields, he added.
Azari Jahromi talked about recent agreements the ICT ministry has signed with other organization to improve their efficiency through IoT, big data and AI.

According to an agreement with Ministry of Agriculture, ICT ministry provide facilities for smart irrigation, which leads to 35 percent decrease in water consumption and pest control through space technology.

On July 20, Iran’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Ministry of Energy signed an agreement to boost job creation and improve efficiency in the field of water and electricity through technological advancement.

Iran becomes one of the pioneer countries in the region in the field of information technology despite all domestic and international impediment, he said.
ELECOMP is the biggest event in the Iranian electronics and computer market. Since its first edition in 1995, the event has been providing a unique opportunity for businesses to increase their share of this huge and ever-growing market. The event will end on July 31 at Tehran International Permanent Fairground. 

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