A Draft of a Memorandum of Understanding between Iran's ICT Park and Tunisia's Elgazala Park Was Reviewed

At the beginning of this meeting, Dr. Abbas Ghanbari Baghestan, Communication and International Affairs Advisor of ICT Park, welcomed Mr. Samir Al-Mansar and introduced ICT Park's different departments, services, and branches while playing ICT Park’s introduction video clip.  

Then, referring to ICT Park's extended connections with several different countries, especially African countries, including Mali, Tunisia, Ethiopia, and Ghana, Dr. Ghanbari Baghestan added that during the last year, internationalization with the aim of commercializing technology products and leading the technology companies into regional and international markets has been the top priority of ICT Park. 

“So far, we have 62 companies with 196 products,” continued ICT Park’s Communication and International Affairs Advisor, reviewing and introducing the Park's several different projects concerning food security, agriculture and different products manufactured by the companies associated with the Park. 

Next, Dr. Ghanbari shared the details of the negotiations with Tunisia's El-Gazala Park on expansion of cooperation between the two parks over the past two months, and presented a draft of the Memorandum of Cooperation between ICT Park and Tunisia's El-Gazala Park to Mr. Samir Al-Mansar, explaining the articles and the predicted areas of cooperation. 

In the course of this meeting, Dr. Mohammad Jafar Sadigh Damghanizadeh, the Advisor to the Minister and the President of ICT Park, expressed his inclination to extend the cooperation with Tunisia, remarking on two important points in the cooperation process: “First, we have to assist the companies associated with Tunisia's El-Gazala Park to present their products in Iran and of course help Iranian companies to introduce their products to Tunisian markets,” he said. 

“Besides, the establishment of joint offices in the two countries is very important because we intend to establish an office outside of Iran in the current year, and we truly want this to happen in Tunisia for the first time. Of course, we can expand these types of cooperation in different countries at the same time,” he added. 

“Hopefully, with your assistance, this cooperation between the two countries will accelerate,” the Advisor to the Minister and the President of ICT Park told Mr. Samir Al-Mansar, referring to his 25 years of experience in establishing the first science and technology parks in both Iran and Tunisia. 

Dr. Sadigh Damghanizadeh also emphasized the global importance of food security due to the lack of water and food all over the world, expressing hope that this mutual cooperation will grow and improve in this regard. 

“For approving each product, there are two levels of verification; verification according to the level of knowledge and verification according to the international standards. Hence, our cooperation with Tunisia could lead to joint investments and result in crucial consequences for both countries. In this way, even the successful conduction of only one company can pave the way for other companies,” he noted. 

Then, Samir Al-Mansar, the Tunisian ambassador in Iran, invited the officials of ICT Park to visit Tunisia, emphasizing the importance of determining the proper time for signing this Memorandum of Cooperation. 

Remarking on the effectiveness of these two-sided visits and their importance for establishing new company offices in both countries, the Tunisian ambassador in our country indicated that in this regard, both sides could hopefully benefit from the positive outcomes. 

“We can facilitate your introduction process to both European and African countries, relying on our knowledge and our well-established relations with European and African countries, which can lead to three-sided cooperation,” Samir Al-Mansar noted in the end. 

At the end of this visit, the Tunisian ambassador together with the officials of ICT Park, visited the different sections of ICT Park, including the smart greenhouse, Arg Telecom Company, Noor Behineh Gostar Company, and ESM Telecommunication Company, with the officials of each department explaining about their products and procedures.