Baghdad — Iraq is accelerating its push to become a regional connectivity hub with two new submarine cable agreements announced this week, reinforcing its digital infrastructure and global data links.
The latest deal, signed by Minister of Communications Hiyam Al-Yasiri, will see Batelco by Beyon land a new submarine cable at the Al-Faw Peninsula, marking Iraq’s sixth submarine connection at the Al-Faw station. The project, set for completion in late 2026 or early 2027, extends from Singapore through Bahrain and other regional stations before terminating in Iraq. Officials highlighted that with this agreement, Iraq now has submarine and transit cable contracts covering all Gulf states.
Earlier in the week, the Ministry also signed an agreement with UAE-based Breeze Investments to land Iraq’s fifth submarine cable at Al-Faw, in partnership with the State Company for Communications and Informatics. The project is described as a strategic initiative to bolster Iraq’s role as a regional and global hub for data traffic, leveraging routes through Iraq and Turkey to Europe. Breeze has additionally been authorised to establish a terrestrial transit network under the name World Link, though few details have been disclosed.
These developments follow Iraq’s broader engagement in international subsea projects. In early 2025, Qatar’s Ooredoo Group signed a landing party agreement with the Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC) for its planned Fibre in Gulf (FIG) cable, which will link all six GCC countries plus Iraq with a massive 720 Tbps of capacity across 24 fibre pairs.
Together, the recent agreements underscore Iraq’s determination to strengthen its connectivity infrastructure, reduce reliance on legacy systems, and position itself as a key transit route between the Gulf, Asia, and Europe.
