By Raynald C Rivera
DOHA: Qatar is making great investments to advance information technology, telecommunications and transportation sectors recognising their vital contribution as main drivers of the economy, Minister of Transport and Communications says H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti said yesterday.
“Information technology, telecommunications and transportation have become very important in the Qatari economy and in the life of every individual and this drove us to develop these sectors considering as they are a main pillar and a driving force of an economy,” he told the opening ceremony of the Arab Future Cities Summit Qatar 2016.
Al Sulaiti said while Qatar is investing heavily on infrastructure and human development, it is also making great strides, specifically in telecommunications and transportation.
The Minister stressed that development should not only be on infrastructure and smart cities on the level of technology and transportation.
“We have to develop comprehensive systems that support and serve different sectors and link Qatar with the global economy.
“We have the resources, we have the vision, we have the leadership to make our dreams a reality,” he said.
“The ministry is looking forward to implementing projects and programmes based on clear strategies and definite timeline to benefit from IT capacity and various platforms in providing smart transportation and smart infrastructure for all those who work and live in Qatar,” he added.
Al Sulaiti, along with Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi inaugurated the two-day summit. Twenty-two ambassadors were among those present at the opening ceremony.
More than 450 delegates are taking part in the summit which highlights smart city adoption, with a focus on developing innovative approaches to deliver more efficient and sustainable services to citizens.
‘Connected by Qatar Post’ — a new eCommerce service — was launched at the opening ceremony at Ritz-Carlton Doha.
Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary, Digital Society Sector Development, Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Waleed Al Sayed, CEO, Ooredoo Qatar, also addressed the opening event.
“As operators, we provide the fixed and mobile network assets that are the foundation for smart cities around the world. “Ooredoo has strived to ensure these assets are among the very best available, providing 4G, 4G+ and nationwide Fibre across our markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia,” said Al Sayed.
“We need to take the next step and build platforms that integrate the network assets and the data produced to provide actionable intelligence that makes the smart city experiment a living, breathing reality,” he added.
Topics discussed on the first day of the summit included telecommunications for smart cities; innovative ICT solutions, smarter city in future; smart cities infrastructure; and smart mobility – the future of transportation. The Peninsula
