Minister of Communications, Hiyam Al-Yasiri, announced today, Monday, that Iraq has become an attractive corridor for international countries, while she indicated that 4 Gulf countries want to pass their cables through Iraq.
Al-Yasiri said in an interview with the official agency, which was followed by Al-Rasheed, that “the marine and transit cables enhance Iraq’s position abroad, and make it a safe and reliable passage compared to the Suez Canal and the cables passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea,” indicating that “Iraq has become an attractive passage for some international countries.”
She added, “The ministry signed with the Gulf Cable Company, which is owned by the Saudi STC Company, to land the third submarine cable to Iraq, and a contract was also signed with the Kuwaiti Zajil Company during the past period.”
She continued, “We are now in the process of contracting with the Emirates Telecommunications Company and Omantel, and there are also offers from the Qatari Ooredoo Company and the Bahraini Batelcool Company,” stressing that “the Gulf countries have a serious desire to contract with Iraq to pass their communications.”
She explained that “the submarine cables are not necessarily owned by the Gulf countries, some of them are owned by Vodafone, which is English, MTN, South Africa, Facebook, and China Mobile, meaning that they are cables that cross the world’s seas and reach Iraq via Al-Faw through the Arab Gulf countries.”
