Peregraf
Iraq’s Minister of Communications, Hiyam Al-Yasiri, announced on Tuesday the signing of a contract with international telecom giant Nokia to establish the country’s first government-owned data centers in the capital, Baghdad.
The project will see the construction of two facilities — one at the Al-Intisar site and another at the Al-Rasheed exchange in the Al-Senak area. Al-Yasiri said the centers will be built to internationally recognized standards and serve both government institutions and the private sector.
"For the first time, Iraq will have government data centers that store information within the country and under Iraqi management," Al-Yasiri told the Iraqi News Agency (INA). "These centers will ensure that the data of Iraqis and companies benefiting from the service remain secure inside Iraq."
She emphasized that advanced data centers are a key pillar of the communications sector, explaining: "There is no benefit in extending fiber optic networks or accelerating internet services without data centers that can process and store information according to the highest specifications."
Al-Yasiri highlighted Nokia’s track record in Iraq, noting that the company previously developed the Ministry of Planning’s data center for the national census.
Rocky Lozano, Nokia’s Director for the Middle East and Africa, described the initiative as "one of the foundations of the digital transformation Iraq is witnessing," adding that the centers will support digitalization, governance, and e-government services.
"Nokia will build databases and data centers using the latest global technology," Lozano said, expressing optimism about Iraq’s progress in modern infrastructure. "This project is among the most important we are implementing in Iraq, and we are pleased to be part of the country’s urban development journey."