Tehran, Seoul discuss cooperation in AI, smart governance
Iran’s minister of communications and information technology emphasized the need to implement previous agreements between Tehran and Seoul, outlining potential areas of collaboration in Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart government initiatives and fiber optic technology.
During a meeting on Monday with Kim Junpyo, South Korea’s ambassador to Iran, Sattar Hashemi highlighted the importance of executing existing agreements. “If these agreements require further action, they should be prioritized,” he said.
Hashemi noted past cooperation between the two countries in smart government projects, which had stalled in recent years and expressed hope that the collaboration would resume with the necessary measures in place.
The minister also identified the digital economy and optical fiber projects as additional areas for cooperation, saying, “Given South Korea’s expertise in optical fiber projects, we are keen to leverage this experience for the development of Iran’s optical fiber infrastructure.”
Hashemi raised the issue of 5G connectivity, pointing out that newer Samsung models now support 5G in Iran.
He also asked the South Korean ambassador to explore the possibility of enabling 5G support for older South Korean-made phone models.
The minister described AI as a promising field for bilateral cooperation, stressing the importance of acting during the current “golden window of opportunity.” He added, “We can actively collaborate and make significant progress in this area.”
Ambassador Kim Junpyo echoed the sentiment, describing the potential for cooperation between Tehran and Seoul as vast and expressed hope that the two countries could share their experiences, particularly in e-government and smart government initiatives.
Kim highlighted South Korea’s advancements in AI, noting that the country currently ranks sixth or seventh globally and is aiming to reach third place, saying, “We can collaborate with Iran in this field as well.”
The ambassador also mentioned past efforts to train specialized ICT personnel and emphasized the potential to continue such cooperation.
The meeting was attended by Hamid Fattahi, deputy minister and head of the Communications Regulatory Authority, and Mohammad-Mohsen Sadr, head of the Information Technology Organization, who discussed potential areas of collaboration with the South Korean ambassador.