Mohammed Ali Al Mannai, President of CRA, with Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.
DOHA: The Telecom World 2018, a global event focused on technologies, innovations, ideas, policies and regulations to bridge the digital divide, provided Qatar with an excellent platform to drive its digital transformation and for strategic networking opportunities with innovation leaders.
The event organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Durban, South Africa concluded on September 13, 2018 and attracted 3,100 participants from 94 countries, 300 exhibitors, 157 speakers, 43 panel sessions, workshops and sponsored sessions, 65 shortlisted SMEs for the ITU Telecom World Awards 2018, and over 200 leaders and decision makers from 74 countries.
A high level Qatari delegation, led by Mohammed Ali Al Mannai, President of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), was supported by Abdullah Hussein Al Jaber, Qatar’s Ambassador to South Africa, and Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development Sector, Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC).
Al Mansoori was a speaker at “Smart cities: innovations in sustainable urban living” session, an important discussion at the Telecom Forum under the broad theme of “Innovation for smarter digital development”.
The Forum discussion was attended by influential global audience spanning governments, key ICT industry players, international organisations, high-growth SMEs, consultants, academia, media and more. Besides Smart Cities, other key topics covered included technological developments and impacts in 5G, IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital literacy, supporting tech SME growth, and the challenges, and opportunities of the digital age.
“ITU Telecom World this year featured inspiring showcases of cutting-edge technology and innovations that are truly reflect the social impact and the progress made in the ICT sector on a daily basis. Together with the MoTC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices abroad, it is CRA’s intention to bring the Qatari technology innovations to such international platforms to showcase the potential our young entrepreneurs have,” said Al Mannai.
“The advancement in digital technologies has opened up new avenues to transform the way spaces we live in. Qatar is adapting and integrating cutting-edge technologies to help achieve outstanding results and innovation for our people. Smart technology drives sustainable growth across different sectors of the economy however, it is vital to ensure that the Qatari society in general and businesses are empowered with the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to use ICT effectively to transform Qatar into a truly information-based economy. Initiatives such as the TASMU Smart Qatar programme, are driving Qatar’s digital transformation towards a smart future,” said Al Mansoori.
The Telecom Exhibition included 300 exhibitors, sponsors and partners from 32 countries.
