Areas for Mutual Cooperation Between ICT Park and Havana Park Explored

This introductory meeting was held for starting negotiation and establishing familiarity with the aim of initiating joint activities between ICT Park and Havana Science and Technology Park in the presence of Eng. Akbar Ghanbarpour, Advisor to the Minister and President of ICT Park; Eng. Mohammad Ali Jafari, Director of ICT Park’s Techno-units’ Development Center; Mr. Mohammad Reza Mousavi, Head of International Affairs in Iran's Information Technology Organization; Mr. Rafael Luis Torralbas Ezpeleta, President of Havana Science and Technology Park; Mr. Hector Rodriguez Figueredo, Vice-President of Havana Science and Technology Park, and Mr. Amaro, Agent for Havana Science Park’s Infrastructure. In this meeting, officials and Senior Agents of the attending organizations provided introductory presentations on their relative institutions and also discussed mutual points of interest for starting the intended cooperation.
At the outset of the meeting, Eng. Mohammad Ali Jafari, Director of ICT Park’s Techno-units’ Development Center, introduced ICT Park: "ICT Park was established as an ICT specialized Park in 2017 by Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and started its activities with the aim of supporting innovative and technology companies in the field of ICT. Currently, there are around 80 member companies present in ICT Park, the majority of which are knowledge-based companies,” he clarified. 
Director of ICT Park’s Techno-units’ Development Center also introduced ICT Park's different branches and their locations: "ICT Park's mission is to develop the technology and commercial status of different enterprises with the aim of empowering them and developing markets for their products. The scope of ICT Park's companies' activities can also be divided into three categories, including “Information and Communication Technology”, “Electronics and Photonics in Industrial Machinery and Automation Systems” and “Advanced Industries and Machinery”,” he said.
He also identified the proper areas for joint collaboration between the attending parties as "Technologies and policies in the field of ICT", “collaboration in the R&Ds of the companies associated with both of the Parks with a view to defining joint projects”, “enhancing the skills of a specialized workforce in the areas of network-related infrastructure, coding, and hardware and software programming,” he mentioned.
Eng. Akbar Ghanbarpour, Advisor to Minister and President of ICT Park also welcomed those present at the meeting: "Currently, several mega projects are running in Iran's ICT and implementing these large-scale projects will lead to the development of a driving motor for Iran's ICT industries. One of these projects includes the fibrillation of all Iranian provinces, resulting in the creation of 20 million ports connecting to the nationwide fiber optic network. This goal is intended to be achieved by 2025. The implementation of this project has activated around 12 operators in the country. Various equipment is required, including fiber optics, docs, FAT, OLT, modems, etc., and a great bulk of this equipment too, is supplied by different national tech companies in Iran,” he noted.
"Iran's fiber system construction project is expected to be finalized by 2025 and its further development will be pursued and implemented at the request of Iraq's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and other countries. Additionally, equipment manufactured in Iran is also suitable for exportation to other countries and we hope to use this capacity in other countries, including Cuba," said Advisor to the Minister and President of ICT Park. 
He also referred to similar conditions of Iran and Cuba due to the imposed sanctions: "Iran has achieved the aforementioned developments despite extreme sanctions. Therefore, there are no restrictions on cooperation and transfer of these achievements to Cuba,” he said.
Mr. Rafael Luis Torralbas Ezpeleta, President of Havana Science and Technology Park, expressed his gratefulness for the presented introduction on ICT Park and described the ongoing meeting as a good opportunity to establish a productive cooperation between the engaged parties: "Havana Science and Technology Park was established in 2019 and is associated with Cuba's Computer Engineering University. Havana Park supports its member companies by focusing on their development, increasing their intellectual capacity, training and educating their workforce, and preparing their products to enter the market," he noted. 
The President of Havana's Science and Technology Park also referred to his future plans, indicating that there are important centers around Havana Park, including the Center for Nanotechnology, the Data Processing Center, and the Free Trade Zone, which can be employed for further progress and development.
"Havana Park is working to develop its activities and its member companies by leveraging foreign investments and other resources. We are therefore pleased to get familiar with ICT Park and hope for providing growth opportunities for both sides by working together. Havana Park, compared ICT Park, is relatively young, and that is the reason why we welcome a joint collaboration between the parties," he explained.
Rafael Luis Torralbas Ezpeleta also listed Havana Park's areas of activity, including “Data Analysis”, “Data Security”, “Unmanned Vehicles” and “Biotechnological Sciences”, expressing his satisfaction with the impending joint collaborations between the two Parks.
It should be noted that at the end of this meeting, the present members decided to provide both parties with the required information regarding the introductions to their associated companies, their products, and their areas of activity with a perspective of establishing cooperation in B2B style.