Fields for Joint Cooperation Between the Two Countries Were Explored

At the outset of this meeting, Eng. Akbar Ghanbarpour, Advisor to the Minister and President of the Information and Communication Technology Park welcomed the Ambassador and the delegation to the Islamic Republic of Iran. He then, introduced the goals, activities and branches of ICT Park: "In Iran, we have 31 provincial Parks and four specialized Parks. One of these specialized Parks is ICT Park. ICT Park has different branches in different cities, including Mashhad, Semnan and Isfahan. Based on due expectations, ICT Park's branches are planned to expand in most of Iran's provinces, aiming to develop ICT and digital economy, improving the capacity of Parks and startups, improving the capacity of graduate students who have market-oriented ideas to expand. We hope that the cooperation between Iran and India will proceed through discussion and view exchanges," he said.
"India is considered to be one of the pioneer countries in the field of ICT and other hardware and software," Advisor to the Minister and President of Information and Communication Technology Park continued. Hence, we are ready to cooperate in this field in order to internationalize the products and productions of the Park's associated companies. Therefore, today's visit will be the first step towards strengthening the ongoing relations with India. India is relatively close to Iran in terms of culture and other conditions, and these commonalities provide suitable grounds for joint cooperation between the two countries. In this regard, a good discussion topic is the subject of education in this field. In other words, the Indian elites in this field can visit Iran to teach the required material and, contrariwise, receive relevant training in line with the required subjects," continued the Advisor to the Minister and President of ICT Park. 
Eng. Ghanbarpour additionally discussed available opportunities for market development of Indian companies in Iran: "If the Indian companies active in the field of ICT intend to develop their market in Iran, we will provide the grounds for establishing these companies in Iran, especially in ICT Park's branches. Also, if there is a tendency to operate in the data center sector, we can provide suitable conditions in Iran’s Special Economic Zone and Payam International Airport.
Later, Mr. Rudra Gaura Shrest, Ambassador, expressed his appreciation toward the Information and Communication Technology Park complex and mentioned his visit to ICT Park as an opportunity to expand communication in the field of ICT: "Information technology is one of the most important fields in India. It is no exaggeration to indicate that India is a remarkable leader in this field at the international level and this technology forms a significant part of India's economy. This issue is very important in export and import. We also pay attention to developing this technology in science and attracting young talents who can enter this field," he clarified. 
"We know that Iran has capable and talented individuals who, despite the imposed sanctions and problems, have achieved significant progress in local technologies. Hence, there is a good opportunity to learn and collaborate with each other while developing new technologies and platforms. Exchanging and sharing data, systems, and IT products between the two countries could be an appropriate   starting point. Also, regarding teacher training, ICT and IT development India has numerous experiences; hence, we can organize different requests," continued the Ambassador. 
"It seems that in Iran, despite the imposed sanctions and restrictions, local production has grown significantly. We can establish connections between Iranian companies and Indian export companies so that Iranian companies can benefit from the credits of export companies in India, in order for Iranians to gain access to international markets. It should be noted that the political relations between Iran and India are also of friendly nature and these relations can be well developed in commercial and technology associations," he further pointed out.
Later, Dr. Abbas Ghanbari Baghestan, Advisor for ICT Park Communication and International Affairs, welcomed the Indian Ambassador and his accompanying delegation and introduced ICT Park's different companies and products: "ICT Park includes big companies whose products are well recognized in the Iranian market. ICT Park's management team has conducted significant activities in this field," he said. 
"Considering the experiences we had in our relations with China, Russia, and different countries in Africa, one of the suggested fields of joint cooperation can include creating innovation centers so that new ideas, experiences can be shared between the two parties. ICT Park and Iran's Special Economic Zone have the capacity to establish international companies. Therefore, if remarkable Indian companies intend to set up their agencies in Iran, we will host them with open arms," continued Advisor for ICT Park Communication and International Affairs. 
In the end, Dr. Abbas Ghanbari Baghestan, referred to the history of ICT Park's activities and cooperation with different African countries, besides Russia and China and emphasized the need on behalf of both sides to gain further knowledge regarding the potential fields for establishing joint centers and companies besides exporting and establishing companies.
In the end, it was decided that the required arrangements for further negotiations and signing a joint memorandum should be pursued.
It is worth mentioning that during this visit the present members besides Eng. Akbar Ghanbarpour, Mr. Rudra Gaura Shrest and Dr. Abbas Ghanbari Baghesta included, also  Mr. Amit Oscar Fernandes, Military Attaché of the Indian Embassy; Mr. Singh Ravinder, Commercial Attache of the Embassy of India; Eng. Seyed Mansour Mutlaq, Advisor to the  Park's President; Eng. Mehdi Azizi Mehmandoost, Director-General of Park Protection; Eng. Javad Yazdanpanah, Deputy of ICT Park’s Technology Development; Eng. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Director of ICT Park’s Techno-units’ Development Center, and Mrs. Rajabpour, Representative of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affair were additionally present.