ZTE’s partnerships with Al-Salam and Mannai Digital Transformation will explore telecommunications, cloud and computing infrastructure to support Iraq’s public-service and enterprise modernisation ambitions.
Iraq’s drive to modernise public services could gain new telecommunications, cloud and AI infrastructure through partnerships linking ZTE with state-owned Al-Salam and regional technology provider Mannai Digital Transformation.
The cooperation will explore the networks and computing platforms needed to support government digital services, alongside enterprise modernisation.
Announced at ITEX IRAQ 2026 in Baghdad, the agreements set out areas for collaboration but disclose no commissioned public-service projects, contract values or delivery schedules.
Their significance lies in the combination. Digital services need more than faster connections: they also require computing capacity, storage, software platforms and people able to operate them. ZTE’s proposed partnerships span those layers, offering a framework for pursuing projects that connect network development with the infrastructure needed to run digital applications.
For public bodies, the challenge is to turn those building blocks into dependable services that people can access and staff can operate. The partnerships offer a route towards that goal, although their scope remains exploratory. The immediate development is a framework for cooperation, with infrastructure commitments still to follow.
A public-sector route
Al-Salam provides the clearest connection to Iraq’s public-sector technology market. Operating under the Ministry of Communications, the state-owned company has local experience in telecommunications, information technology and government projects, according to ZTE’s announcement.
Under their memorandum, the companies intend to combine ZTE’s technology and industry capabilities with Al-Salam’s local resources and market knowledge. Their proposed cooperation covers telecommunications infrastructure, ICT solutions and the digitalisation of industries, leaving scope for opportunities across both networks and the services they support.
For government customers, that combination could be relevant wherever connectivity upgrades must sit alongside changes to systems and operations. A public service delivered online depends on the connection reaching users, but also on the reliability of the infrastructure processing requests and holding information behind the interface.
The agreement does not identify particular ministries, applications or procurement exercises. Nor does it commit Al-Salam to a specified network build. Its practical importance will therefore depend on whether the partners translate their broad remit into defined projects with budgets, responsibilities and measurable service outcomes.
An Al-Salam representative said the company wanted to bring advanced technologies and international practices to Iraq while developing infrastructure and solutions suited to national requirements.
That emphasis on local needs matters: technology choices become useful when they match the institutions, users and operating conditions they are intended to serve.
Computing enters the picture
The second memorandum, with Mannai Digital Transformation, places greater emphasis on data centres, cloud and enterprise technology. ZTE described Mannai as a regional ICT solutions and services provider with Middle Eastern experience in data centre projects, IT infrastructure and Digital Transformation.
The partners plan to explore opportunities in data centre infrastructure, cloud and computing platforms, alongside the modernisation of enterprise systems. ZTE brings servers, storage and capabilities in data centres, cloud and AI infrastructure; Mannai contributes regional project experience and customer service capabilities.
This arrangement addresses a different part of the delivery challenge. Supplying equipment is one element of an infrastructure project. Designing a workable solution, integrating its components and supporting customers over time require additional capabilities, particularly where organisations are adopting unfamiliar platforms or expanding their computing estate.
For potential Iraqi customers, the proposition is a more comprehensive supply and service relationship. Government bodies and businesses could, in principle, draw on the partners for several infrastructure layers rather than procure each component in isolation. The announcement does not specify a commercial model or service catalogue.
Mannai’s representative pointed to growing opportunities in Iraqi data centres and digitalisation, saying the companies aimed to combine their strengths to offer more competitive infrastructure and solutions. No customer commitments accompanied that statement, making it an indication of market ambition rather than evidence of secured demand.
Connecting networks with workloads
Together, the memoranda reflect ZTE’s wider strategy of linking connectivity with computing. Networks move information between people, institutions and machines; computing systems store that information and run the applications that turn it into services. Expanding one without planning for the other can constrain what customers achieve.
For example, an organisation moving an internal process online must consider access, application performance, storage and operational support together. Introducing AI adds further questions about the resources required to run workloads, the information those systems use and how their outputs fit into existing workflows.
These are general implementation considerations, not projects confirmed under the Iraqi agreements. Nevertheless, they explain why ZTE has grouped telecommunications, data centres, cloud and AI within the same market strategy. Each can create requirements for the others as customers move from basic connectivity towards more demanding digital operations.
The breadth also creates a test for the partnerships. A portfolio spanning many technologies can open discussions with different customers, but broad coverage alone does not establish delivery capability for every requirement. Individual projects will need clear specifications, accountable implementation teams and support arrangements that extend beyond installation.
ZTE said it intended to strengthen its Iraqi presence through technology collaboration, capability building and talent development. Those commitments remain broad, with no training targets or named programmes disclosed. Their eventual substance could influence whether customers develop the skills to manage and maintain the systems they adopt.
That distinction is especially relevant for readers assessing the public-service implications. A proposed cloud platform could support many different functions, but the benefits cannot be judged without knowing which organisations will use it and what problems it is meant to solve.
Likewise, a data centre partnership says little about available capacity until its physical infrastructure and operating model are defined. The useful questions now concern implementation: who will commission the work, how systems will be supported and what improvements customers should expect.
Answers would turn a strategic announcement into a clearer account of Iraq’s infrastructure development and give prospective users a firmer basis for assessing the partners’ technical and commercial proposition in everyday operational practice.
From exhibition to execution
The signing took place during the fifth Iraq International Telecommunications and Information Technology Exhibition and Conference. ZTE said the event brought together government institutions, regulators, telecom operators and international technology companies, with discussions covering telecommunications infrastructure, AI, data centres, cloud computing and Digital Transformation.
That setting gave the agreements visibility among organisations involved in shaping and buying digital infrastructure. ZTE’s release said Iraq’s communications minister witnessed the ceremonies, underlining the public-sector context of the announcement without establishing that the memoranda themselves constitute government procurement awards.
ZTE also said it had longstanding involvement in Iraq’s telecommunications market and maintained relationships with government entities, operators and industry partners. The new memoranda extend that positioning towards a wider range of computing and digitalisation opportunities, although the release provides no figures for its existing Iraqi business.
The next meaningful milestones would be more concrete: named customers, defined deployment scopes, agreed financing and schedules for bringing services into operation. Such details would make it possible to assess the scale of the partnerships and distinguish exploratory cooperation from projects with direct operational consequences.
For now, ZTE has assembled two complementary relationships around its Iraqi ambitions. Al-Salam offers local experience and a connection to public-sector technology work, while Mannai adds regional infrastructure and services expertise. Whether that combination changes Iraq’s digital capacity will depend on the projects that follow the signatures.
