Iraq cuts internet transit fees by 40% to position itself as regional corridor

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Minister of Communications, Mustafa Sind, announced on Tuesday that the country has cut internet transit fees on traffic passing through its networks by 40%, as part of a strategy to position Iraq as an international corridor for data capacity moving between East and West. In a written statement, Sind said the decision was formally approved by the Advisory Council and the board of directors of the General Company for Communications and Information Technology. The minister added that one day after the decision was announced, Iraq received official offers from two Gulf countries seeking to connect and route their digital capacity to Europe through Iraqi infrastructure. He said final contracts are expected to be signed in the coming days.