U.S. Tech Execs: Iraq Open To Innovation
A State Department-led delegation of U.S. high-tech executives visiting Baghdad this week met with President Jalal Talibani and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih as well as the Iraqi minister for science and technology, technology executives, and university students. The trip by officials from Google, YouTube, AT&T, Twitter and others, was a fact-finding mission with the goal of listening and lending expertise -- not securing lucrative contracts, officials said Wednesday. The delegation reported during a conference call that the Iraqi government seemed open to new technology. For example, Salih has an iPhone, Gmail and promised to start a Twitter page. He said his daughter, who attends Princeton University, wants him to sign up for a profile on social networking site Facebook.
While the issue of government censorship of the Internet is a hot-button issue in many countries, YouTube's Hunter Walk said he and his colleagues heard just the opposite. "There was a lot of hope for a more transparent government process," he said on the conference call. Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman added that there is "a real commitment to building a real society." "I think the world looks to President Obama on how to self organize," he said. When asked whether the pace of technology was moving faster than the basic infrastructure in Iraq, State Department official Jared Cohen commented: "It's a good thing that they become more aware of what they don't have." Google's Ahmad Hamzawi pointed out that fiber is being laid throughout the country.
On the call, executives emphasized that the culture is changing steadily but challenges remain. "Too many people are dependent on the government. These are people who lived under dictatorship for years," Blue State Digital's David Nassar said. Google's Kannan Pashupathy added: "The young people have the spirit but not yet the decentralized psyche." Heiferman commented: "It's a fascinating moment in history where they are realizing their own power." For more about the trip, read this post on Tech Daily Dose.
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