Afghanistan, Iran agree to advance telecom ties

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan and Iran have agreed on fiber optic connectivity to help reduce Internet and other telecom services’ prices in the country, a statement said on Thursday.

During his two-day official trip to Iran, Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Shahzad Aryubi met his Iranian counterpart Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahrom and visited the state-run Telecommunication Company of Iran or TIC.

Both the sides conferred on bilateral relations, especially in area of internet facility, the statement from the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology (MoCI) in Kabul said.

They discussed and agreed on the Afghanistan Noori Optic Fiber project’s connectivity between western Herat City and southwestern Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz province near the border with Iran.

Extending Afghanistan’s optic fiber network to Iran’s Chabahar port to connect the landlocked country with the Submarine Cable also came up for discussion during the meeting, the statement said.

Aryubi was quoted as saying Afghanistan wanted to purchase cheaper internet from Iran and reduce rates of telecommunication services between the two countries and transform Afghanistan into a regional hub for Internet.

According to the statement, Afghanistan is connected with all neighboring countries via the internet and desires to generate revenue through transit fees.