The Minister of Information and Communications Technology Seyed Sattar Hashemi has said that providing equal and fair conditions will pave the way for the flourishing of the capacities of villages and nomadic areas to play a role in the country's development
He made the remarks at the opening
ceremony of the Sixth International Exhibition of Rural and Nomadic
Capabilities on Thursday.
“The proud nomads of our country,
in defending the integrity of Iran faced the enemy with Breno rifles. Today, they
are again at the forefront of the country's growth and development in various
fields of production, economy, and culture.”
Hashemi said that rural residents
and nomadic communities do not need special privileges, adding “I firmly
believe that our dear nomads and courageous rural residents only need equal
conditions, and if these conditions are provided, they will make their own way
along the path of progress.”
Referring to the measures taken
by the ICT Ministry to provide an equal and fair foundation in the field of
communications, he said “At the ICT Ministry and within the communications
sector, connecting the country's villages—focusing on villages with more than
20 households—to the communications network and providing them with quality
internet has been placed on the agenda.”
“Today, more than 82 percent of
the villages have been connected to the country's communications network. This
measure is being implemented in line with achieving communications justice, and
we are grateful to God that the mission and responsibility of the Ministry of
Communications have also been defined along this path.”
Also referring to the investment
made to develop rural communications under the President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration,
the ICT Minister noted: “In this administration, more than 180 trillion rials
have been invested in the development of rural communications.”
Postal Services and Smart Nomadic
Schools
Hashemi also referred to the ICT Ministry’s
plans to make nomadic schools smarter and said “Under this administration, our
focus is on making residential boarding schools for nomadic communities smarter
so that students in these areas can also benefit from the capabilities of
technology and communications.”
He identified the development of
postal services in villages as another program of the ICT Ministry and added:
“Our approach is to expand postal services with a focus on rural postal
counters and offices. Today, 43 percent of the country's postal-office service
coverage has been established with a focus on villages.”
“If we have created communications
infrastructure for all our dear rural residents, we must also create other
capacities along this value chain so that the people of villages and nomadic
communities can make use of these capacities.”
He added: “One of these
capacities is providing the opportunity for rural and nomadic products to be
offered directly to consumers and eliminating the harmful phenomenon of
intermediaries. Good measures have also been taken in this regard.”
Emphasizing that the measures
taken are not sufficient, Hashemi stated: “We must all make a commitment and
stand together to provide more services to rural residents and nomadic
communities, because these dear people are at the forefront of the country's
growth and development in all fields, from production and the economy to
culture.”
“We must all commit ourselves to
bringing the rural economy from the margins to the center. The more successful
we are on this path, the more we can say that the rural economy is sustainable
and that people will remain in the country's villages,” Hashemi noted.
Following this program, a
memorandum of cooperation was signed between ICT Minister and Abdolkarim
Hossein-Zadeh, Vice President for Rural Development and Underserved Areas, with
the aim of developing the digital economy, strengthening digital
infrastructure, and utilizing technological capacities to create new economic
opportunities in villages and underserved areas.