Iraqi Minister of Communications Hiyam Al-Yasiri signed an agreement with IQ and CBI companies regarding optical fibers, aiming to transfer an Internet capacity of up to one tera within the country’s territory, to complement the maritime and land transport networks.
Al-Yasiri said during the signing ceremony, “This project is an important event in the history of the ministry, and we have long awaited it to reap the fruits of efforts that have extended for years with a strategic partner, which is IQ . Signing the agreement is important with CBI , which is our other strategic partner, and the two projects will complement each other in terms of maritime transport and in terms of the land network.”
She added, “This project represents one of the important success stories of the Ministry of Communications, which came after a difficult summary and years of suffering. We started adopting this project as the first idea in 2010, as we were well aware of the importance of transit projects, and the importance of Iraq being a strategic corridor linking the north to the south and the east to the west in this part of the world.”
She continued: “We have adopted such projects since then, and the first of these adoptions was the iQ Company project . At the time, it was an investment project, and what made the application and execution of the project more difficult was that it was the ministry’s first investment experience, and at the time, the investment laws and the investment system were not mature enough. However, we underwent this experience in joint dealing with iQ Company and matured an investment contract and an investment license with the National Investment Authority, and the contract entered into force.”
She explained that “the project entered commercial testing last year, and the results were rapid, as today the capacities passing through the project have increased to 1.6 terabytes after being 10 gigabytes over previous years, through the flexible pricing policies adopted by the ministry with the help of its partners, as well as through the technical and legal solutions we have created for these projects.”
She pointed out that “today all eyes are on the Iraqi corridor and the IQ project is no longer just a pioneering project, but today we have also opened the door wide to many agreements with major international companies in order to attract investors and convince them to pass through Iraq, and this will certainly support the work of the IQ project and the large companies that will invest billions of dollars in the Iraqi corridor.”
For his part, iQ Group General Counsel , Zeno Qader, stated during the signing ceremony that “today we witnessed a historic and unique event in the field of communications and information technology in Iraq, and we celebrate the signing of the first agreement to transfer a capacity of up to one tera within Iraqi territory, through the transit line project that was established by iQ Company .”
He also said, “We at iQ Group of Companies are proud of the services we provide in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, especially in Sulaymaniyah Governorate. The Internet services provided by our company are the best in Iraq and the Middle East, and even surpass many countries in the world in terms of quality. They are also among the most cost-effective services.”
He stressed that “this project is not just an ordinary achievement, but rather represents a major strategic step that places Iraq at the heart of the international networks map. Through it, Iraq becomes a pivotal center for passing capacities between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and vice versa. This project is also important not only for economic aspects, but also includes security and stability dimensions, which enhances Iraq’s position on the international scene.”
