TEHRAN – Iran and Tanzania have explored opportunities for collaboration in the field of information and communication technology.

During a meeting held in Tehran on Wednesday, the Iranian Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Issa Zarepour, and the Minister of Trade and Industrial Development of Tanzania, Omar Said Shaaban, agreed on developing cooperation in areas related to information and communication technology, IRNA reported.

Highlighting the importance of relations between Iran and African countries, Said Shaaban stated that Tanzania is willing to expand cooperation with Iran.

"Western social media platforms have now become a threat to family values. This issue stresses the necessity of launching local social platforms that are in line with the cultural norms of our countries," he said.

Lauding the expertise of Iranian companies in the field of information and communication technology, Said Shaaban expressed optimism that Tanzania would benefit from the capabilities of Iranian companies to develop ties between the two countries.

Zarepour, for his part, referred to Iran's strategy to enhance relations with African countries, especially Tanzania, announcing Iran's readiness to take steps in this regard. 

"The communication development, including infrastructure development, information technology development, and space industry can each serve as a starting point to commence bilateral cooperation in the field of communication and information technology," IRNA quoted Zarepour as saying.

He also announced the country's readiness to enhance fixed communications in Tanzania based on the fiber optic network and the development of electronic government.

In the end, he called for the establishment of a joint working group comprising deputy ministers of the two countries to address the issues related to bilateral cooperation and finalize the agreement reached during the meeting.

****Status of ICT in Iran

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is the highest authority in the field of ICT in the country. All activities related to the information and communication technology industry are directly related to the ministry.

According to Zarepour, the government pays special attention to plans and policies in this sector in order to maximize the use of ICT to facilitate people's lives.

The successful designing, building, and launching of a satellite show the growth of the national technology and scientific power of a country.

Space technology has been considered a tool to expand prosperity, peace, scientific-cultural development, and economic progress in human societies.

Different nations of the world exploit this technology in some way based on their capacity, capabilities, and efforts.

Currently, 13 universities and a research institute affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology are offering aerospace majors, thus Iran has a high capability in training specialists and experts in the aerospace sector and is a leading country in the region.

Zarepour said in April 2023 that more than 91 percent of villages with a population of over 20 households across the country have now access to the internet via the national information network.

The villages with above 20 households having access to the internet have increased from 80 percent to 91 percent since the incumbent administration took office in August 2021, said the minister.

Access to telecommunication services in rural areas of the country had improved over the period as the overall number of villages with access to communication services rose to 52,182, around 93 percent of all villages, while 47,837 villages had access to home landline services.

Moreover, the number of Iranian mobile users reached nearly 135.890 million, according to the CRA which put the mobile phone penetration rate in the country at 161.67 percent.

The figures showed, however, that fixed broadband adoption in Iran had stalled at 14 percent with nearly 11.921 million customers having access to the Internet via those services.

This statistic shows that fixed broadband internet has grown by less than 2 percent compared to last year and mobile internet has experienced a growth of 10 percent. However, it can be said that the speed of mobile internet expansion is 5 times the speed of fixed internet.

MT/MG