Sweden to Cooperate with Iran in the ICT Sector
During a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden’s Minister of Housing and Digital Development announced the country’s enthusiasm in cooperating with Iran in the ICT sector.
In a meeting with Sweden’s Minister of Housing and Digital Development and Iran’s Minister of Communications, the two countries expressed their will to cooperate in various fields such as the ICT sector. Mahmoud Vaezi, Iran’s Minister of Communications voiced the long history of relationships between the two countries and stated that Iran could benefit from the experience of Swedish companies in production, and joint-venture partnerships which would be in the interest of both counties. He also mentioned the massive amount of talent pool in Iran and the necessity of developing the ICT sector in the less developed regions of the country, including the villages with the help of the Swedish government.
Peter Ericsson, Swedish Minister of Housing and Digital Development also supported the presence of the numerous Swedish companies in Iran by saying that his country has always had a positive view and respect for Iran. He added that with the lifting of sanctions and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Sweden is willing to have a more active role in Iran’s ICT sector. Sweden is one the major players of the ICT sector in Europe and is known for some of the most innovative startups such as Skype, Spotify and Mojang. Stockholm also has the largest number of unicorns (startups with a valuation of over one billion dollars) in Europe.
Previously, Pomegranate Investment, a Swedish based investment firm with a focus of investing on Iran’s consumer tech sector has had successful cooperations with Sarava VC in Iran in order to invest in the private tech sector of the country. With the nuclear deal which got signed between Tehran and the Group 5+1, Iranian startups are more hopeful in raising funds from foreign investment firms.