ICT Deputy Minister Highlights Iran's 137th Global Rank in Digital Economy Regulation at INOTEX 2026

During the "Stay or Go" panel at the Iran International Innovation & Technology Exhibition (INOTEX), Chitsaz outlined the systemic regulatory challenges hindering the digital economy. According to the INOTEX 2026 News Center, he emphasized that financing is only the fourth or fifth major challenge, while fragmented and risk-averse regulation remains the primary bottleneck.

Key strategic insights and operational shifts highlighted include:

• Multi-Stakeholder Regulation: Urging a transition from fragmented, sector-specific oversight or a single "super-regulator" to a coordinated, fifth-generation regulatory model that only intervenes where actual risks exist.
• Government as Market-Maker: Shifting the Ministry of ICT’s role from direct project execution to creating market opportunities, exemplified by opening 360 trillion IRR in smart government projects to private sector participation.
• Transparency and Energy Pricing: Noting that broad digital transformation is impossible without transparent pricing for water, electricity, and gas, which currently stifles the largest opportunities for tech-driven efficiency.
• Separation of Financing and Execution: Advocating for the decoupling of project execution from financing mechanisms to make projects more attractive to private financial institutions and venture capital.

Chitsaz concluded that while the digital economy is inherently the least rent-seeking sector due to its transparency, realizing its potential requires focused, unified policy interventions rather than scattered crisis management.

CMS Hashtags: #INOTEX2026 #TechGovernance #DigitalEconomy #RegulatoryReform #MarketMaker