‘Knowledge-Based Firms Account For $11bn Worth of Iran’s Economy’

Date: 25 December 2019 - 22:12

News ID: ۷۴۳۵۹

TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iranian Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology (ICT) for Technology and Innovation Affairs Sattar Hashemi said that knowledge-based companies accounted for $11 billion of the country’s total economic value.
25 percent of this $11 billion has been realized in the field of communications and information technology (ICT), he added.
He made the remarks on Wed. in specialized committee of Iran-Turkey’s joint ICT cooperation held in the presence of Turkish Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ömer Fatih Sayan.
Hashemi pointed to the considerable growth of the country in the field of technology and innovation and added, "Accordingly, Iran’s global ranking in the field of production of science has promoted from 34 to 16, showing an eye-catching development in this sector.”
He also referred to the promotion of Iran’s status in the Global Innovation Index (GII) over the past five years and added, "In the field of information technology (IT), Iran’s rank hit from 75 to 61 over the past two years.”
Presently, more than 87 percent of people in the country can access to high-speed internet, he said, adding, "all cities of the country have been equipped with 3- and 4-G internet network system in a way that more than 80 percent of villages, home to above 20 households, use bandwidth internet network.”
Turning to the increased role of startups and newly-established IT companies in economy of the country, he stated, "emergence of startups and creative companies have provided suitable ways for the country to establish necessary cooperation with other foreign companies in many areas such as communication and information technology (ICT).”
It should be noted that Iran-Turkey’s first specialized committee on joint cooperation in the field of information and communications technology was held on Tuesday in Tehran.
The session is a follow-up to Iran-Turkey joint agreements aimed at strengthening and expanding the two countries’ cooperation in the field of ICT.