The GSM Association, responsible for organizing the Mobile World Congress, announced the cancellation of the largest mobile conference in the world known as "MwC" for fear of spreading the Corona virus, and after the withdrawal of large companies a week before the start of the conference.

In a statement, the association's CEO, John Hoffman, said the outbreak had made it impossible to hold the event. The conference was scheduled to be held in Barcelona from February 24 to 27.

"Taking into account the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, GSMI canceled the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​because global concern about the spread of Corona virus, travel anxiety and other conditions makes it impossible to hold the event," the statement continued. The parties of the host city respect and understand this decision. "

"GSM and the host city will continue to work in harmony and support each other to organize the next conference in 2021 (MWC Barcelona 2021) and future releases. At this time, we sympathize with the affected people in China and all over the world," he added.

Corona virus infection exceeded 42,000, while more than a thousand deaths, most of the infections and deaths were reported in Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei Province in China, and at least 25 countries reported cases.

GSMI tried to allay fears by increasing on-site clearance procedures, recommending attendees not to shake hands, and even ban visitors from the afflicted Hubei Province, where the Corona virus was first discovered.

GSM is a commercial, industrial body representing more than 1,200 companies across the mobile ecosystem, and the Global Mobile Conference is an opportunity for thousands to come together for partnerships, deals and product launches.

This conference is held annually in Barcelona, ​​and it has a significant economic impact, with a return of approximately 492 million euros, and also generates 14,100 part-time jobs for residents of the city.

LG, Intel, Sony, Amazon, Nevada, Vivo, Nokia, NTT, Cisco and other companies announced their withdrawal from the conference in recent days, which encouraged the organizers to take the decision to cancel the conference this year to preserve the health of the participants.