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The Minister of Communications discusses with his Iraqi counterpart cooperation in digital and postal transformation 10:43 AM | Friday, June 18, 2021 side of the meeting Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, received Arkan Shehab, Minister of Communications of the Republic of Iraq, who is currently visiting Egypt at the head of a high-level delegation comprising government officials and representatives of the Iraqi private sector with the aim of supporting aspects of joint cooperation between Egypt and Iraq in the fields of communications, information technology and post in the light of a memorandum The understanding that was signed between the two countries yesterday at the headquarters of the Council of Ministers in the presence of Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, Prime Minister The two ministers chaired an expanded meeting that included a number of executive leaders from the Egyptian and Iraqi sides; During which they discussed and discussed mechanisms for activating cooperation, exchanging experiences and stimulating joint initiatives in a number of related fields, which were included in the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries, namely: infrastructure, digital transformation, capacity building, postal services, Arabic digital content, innovation and entrepreneurship, and cybersecurity. Research and development, and investment in the field of communications and information technology, in addition to the fields of satellites, the legislative and regulatory framework, and technological areas. Amr Talaat stressed the depth of Egyptian and Iraqi relations, and that there are directives from the political leaders of the two countries to intensify joint cooperation. He pointed out that the communications and information technology sector is a common denominator in development projects in all sectors, making it the locomotive for this cooperation between the two countries to serve as a role model in joint Arab cooperation. The minister announced that it was agreed on the proposal submitted by the Iraqi Minister of Communications regarding the establishment of an Egyptian-Iraqi company to start digital transformation projects and mechanization of services in Iraq, where a joint team from the two countries will work to crystallize the idea and bring it into effect. He stressed that a joint committee will be formed to translate the axes of cooperation into short-term operational plans; And that he is ready to accept the invitation of the Iraqi Minister of Communications to visit Iraq; He expressed the Egyptian companies' aspiration to work in the Iraqi market with their Iraqi counterparts. He explained that the Ministry of Communications is putting all its capabilities and expertise to support joint cooperation; He stressed that, during their meeting with the Egyptian Prime Minister, he and his Iraqi counterpart reviewed the axes of cooperation that were agreed upon, which include communications and interconnection, establishing joint projects in the field of digital transformation and automating government services, exchanging visions and experiences between the two postal institutions in the two countries and activating cooperation in the field of postal services. Providing financial services to Egyptians in Iraq and to Iraqis through Egypt Post, in addition to cooperation in the field of capacity building and deepening technical expertise in the sciences of communications and information technology through cooperation between Egyptian training institutions and their Iraqi counterparts, sponsoring innovative thought and entrepreneurship, and establishing joint start-ups between Iraqi and Egyptian youth, As well as cooperation in the fields of cybersecurity, satellite communications, and the governance of the communications and information technology sector to provide better services For his part; Arkan Shehab, Minister of Communications of the Republic of Iraq, stressed that there is a political will to establish real partnerships and open horizons for cooperation between Egypt and Iraq, given the strategic importance of the two countries, and the similarity and congruence between the two ministries, which will contribute to the completion of work. Pointing to the great interest that Iraq attaches to the implementation of the interconnection project; He praised the Egyptian experience in digital transformation and Iraq's interest in directly benefiting from these experiences through training and qualification, and the establishment of an Egyptian-Iraqi holding company to serve as a legal and regulatory framework through which to work to implement projects in the Iraqi market that serve the Iraqi people and government institutions and represent an added investment value for both sides. Shehab added: The postal project is of great importance to Iraq; Expressing his aspiration to deepen cooperation in this field and for Egypt to be one of the main countries to which the Iraqi postal traffic is transferred due to the experience of Egypt Post in providing various postal services to benefit depositors; He pointed out that work will be done to establish a partnership and twinning between the Iraqi and Egyptian Training Institute to qualify cadres. Shehab invited Minister Amr Talaat to visit Iraq; He stressed that a business forum will be organized in Iraq, through which Egyptian companies will be invited to get to know Iraq's promising market and work with it. The Iraqi government will provide all facilities and facilitate procedures. For his part, Ambassador Khaled Anis, Assistant Foreign Minister for the Arab Mashreq countries, affirmed that there is a vision and direction for the Egyptian leadership to deepen relations with Iraq; The Egyptian-Iraqi Higher Committee was held in Baghdad under the chairmanship of the prime ministers of the two countries and resulted in many memoranda of understanding. The past months have witnessed numerous visits by Iraqi officials to Cairo to sign many agreements; He praised the Iraqi parliament's decision to adopt the oil-for-reconstruction mechanism with Egypt, which represents an important step in supporting bilateral relations and can be used in the areas of communications, transportation and housing. Dr. Sherif Farouk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Post Authority, said that the commonalities between Iraqi Post and Egypt Post in terms of services, activities and citizens' trust help build joint innovative business models that benefit citizens in both countries. During the meeting, the Iraqi delegation reviewed the features of the communications, information technology and postal sector in Iraq. The Iraqi side also shared its proposals to support bilateral cooperation between the two countries in related fields.