A special summit took place in Sharjah, UAE on 27-28 February 2007 to strengthen Iraq's crucial and fast emerging information communication technology and education sectors.

The summit was organised to determine Iraq’s strategy for building relationships with leading global companies to bring best-in-breed technology, training and management skills to the country, welcoming a delegation of senior level officials from the government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The official Iraqi delegation was led by the Iraqi Ministries of Communications, Science & Technology and Higher Education & Scientific Research.The delegation included Minister of Communications HE Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, Minister of Science & Technology HE Raed Fahmi and Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research HE Abed Theyab. The summit also played host to senior representation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including HE Dr Idris Hadi Salih, Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research and HE Dr Dilshad Abdul-Rahmanm, Minister of Education.

The summit's aim was to achieve consensus on how best to meet a number of key ministerial objectives identified by Iraq’s new government. These objectives include the establishment of computer and electronic communication standards, secure networks, the development of crucial mobile telecommunications infrastructure and equipment, modernising Iraq’s information technology infrastructure, procurement, computer training for government employees and the establishment of Iraq's IT programmes.

The attending ministers and their officials gave a series of presentations over the two days, whilst making themselves available for private meetings with attending company executives.

Other senior figures attending the summit included the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO), whose designated officials for the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Education gave indepth presentations on the realities of working with the Iraqi Ministries, before making themselves available for meetings with attending executives. The summit also enjoyed representation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) Iraqi Education Programme and the Iraqi Business Council in Abu Dhabi.

The summit also welcomed a number of established educational institutions, there to speak with the assembled ministerial delegations with regard to forming and strengthening relationships with leading universities to encourage technology transfer, the adoption of crucial training programmes and potential internships.

This is a key area of focus for the Iraqi Ministers that attended the summit, as Iraq looks to provide its technical staff and students with the skills required to bring Iraq into the 21st Century.

All of the attending Iraqi Ministries are currently looking to work with public and private industry, governmental agencies and educational institutions to lead scientific and technological development for the purpose of fostering the restoration and improvement of Iraq's infrastructure and industrial base.

All attending Iraqi officials outlined their ministries' requirements for their relevant sectors in front of the senior corporate audience, before holding private consultations with some of the pre-eminent operators in the ICT and education sectors.

Ongoing Investment

Iraq’s telecommunications infrastructure requires a massive ongoing investment, in building a reliable state of the art backbone, fibre, microwave and terrestrial transmission networks, mobile and wireless infrastructure, increased teledensity, and the overall subscriber requirements and experience.

Elsewhere, the country's information technology (IT) infrastructure requires modernising, while government and financial systems need reliable systems, new database and management systems need to be implemented, while software piracy needs to be curbed and Intellectual Property software recognised.

With regards to education, Iraq's education system requires long term support to aid the planning and construction of schools, educational and curricular consulting, the provision of equipment and material supplies (including IT and computing equipment), the promotion and establishment of e-learning and specialised teacher training, as well as partnerships with the international educational community.

More information on the presentations that were delivered can be found below: