TEHRAN –The head of the Information Technology Organization of Iran, Mohammad-Mohsen Sadr, and the head of Saudi Arabia's Communications, Space & Technology Commission, Mohammed Altamimi, have explored the potential for enhancing collaborations between the two countries in different fields.

The officials met on the sidelines of the Saudi Arabia Internet Governance Forum (Saudi IGF) which took place from December 15 –19.

The two sides expressed interest in boosting joint activities in the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector, and exchanged views on existing capacities in the two countries, Mehr news agency reported.

Utilizing mutual infrastructures, sharing experiences in native information technology, and messaging platforms, expanding cooperation in post-services, and optical fiber, conducting joint projects in artificial intelligence, as well as joint activities by start-ups and knowledge-based firms were among the main focuses of the meeting. The officials also emphasized using the Iranian private sector’s capacities in Saudi-Arabia’s ICT projects.

A memorandum of understanding will be provided to follow up on the agreements.

The 19th annual IGF was held in a hybrid format, accommodating participants onsite in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and online.

The main objectives of the forum were to advocate for an open, globally connected, trustworthy Internet for everyone by highlighting the current risks of Internet fragmentation, and to provide the knowledge and skills needed to a new generation of Internet leaders to defend the Internet and empower them to take action.

It also spotlighted and showcased the important work of the global Internet Society community.

The theme for this year’s IGF was “Building our Multistakeholder Digital Future”. The program was centered around the following sub-themes: Harnessing innovation and balancing risks in the digital space, enhancing the digital contribution to peace, development, and sustainability, advancing human rights and inclusion in the digital age, and improving digital governance.

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.

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.

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