Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s accelerating push toward artificial intelligence and digital transformation took the spotlight at the Mobile World Congress Doha 2025 (MWC Doha), where the country’s momentum and the wider regional significance of hosting the event are recognised, said an official.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the conference, Jad Haddad, Partner and Global Head of Quotient – AI by Oliver Wyman, called this year’s edition “a great step for the region,” noting that it marks the first time the MWC gathering has been held in the Middle East and specifically within the GCC. “I think it’s great for telecoms, but it goes way beyond,” he said. “In the region here, the telecom operators are basically catalysts of digital transformation for the countries. So I see this really as a big step forward for the region and not only for Qatar, but also beyond telecommunications.”
Haddad highlighted Qatar’s “very ambitious vision” for AI, pointing to the innovations showcased at MWC by both major operators and homegrown tech players. “We’re seeing all the players at MWC are showcasing a lot of AI use cases, but also innovations that are happening, and that I think is very important also for Qatar,” he said.
Qatar’s strong investment posture, he stated, is already paying visible dividends. “Qatar is definitely investing very heavily in digital transformation overall, but also in AI. So I think Qatar is number seven globally when it comes to investment in digital transformation,” Haddad noted. “As we walk around MWC, but also outside in Doha, that is showing very clearly in the smart city infrastructure, in the communication infrastructure, but also around the services that we get.”
According to Haddad, the nation’s priorities are increasingly oriented toward economic transformation. “It’s basically leveraging that digital transformation to accelerate the economic transformation of the country towards more of a knowledge economy and ICT,” he said.
He pointed to both Qatar’s National Development Strategy and its Digital Agenda 2030 as clear signals of this direction. He stressed, “The digital agenda sets very ambitious targets for ICT GDP as well as ICT job growth in the country, doubling effectively in the next five years.”
Haddad also underscored Qatar’s pioneering approach to adopting advanced technologies, particularly within the public sector. “We’ve seen adoption of key AI technologies that have been announced recently,” he said. “The government, led by MCIT, has been basically driving the AI transformation of the country. The scale of the country is perfect to launch and disseminate, and adopt those technologies at a large scale, whether it is 5G, 6G, or AI.” With government backing, a dynamic private sector, and a clear national strategy, the official said that the country is positioning itself as a regional leader in the digital era.
