News | Ministry of Transport

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

MOTC, QU Sign Memo of Cooperation on Research, Info. Exchange

Doha – QatarThe Ministry of Transport and Communications and Qatar University, represented by the College of Engineering, today signed a memorandum of cooperation to boost and strengthen cooperation in scientific, technological and research fields on mobility and transportation. The two parties also aim to maximize benefiting from expertise and competence they have in developing and training human resources in pursuant of the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2018-2022.The memo was signed by MOTC’s Acting Assistant Undersecretary of Land Transport Affairs Mr. Eng. Hamad Essa Abdulla and Dean of QU College of Engineering (QU-CENG) Dr. Khaled Kamal Naji.The memo provides for the exchange of information, expertise, studies, statistics and data that matter the most for the Ministry and the QU Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Center (QTTSC), in addition to conducting research on planning, designing and developing road and land transport projects, traffic engineering, road safety, the deployment of smart systems in land transport projects, public transit and mobility. The memo also provides for the drafting and developing of policies, strategies and legislations needed for developing and regulating the land transport and transportation industry.Under the memo, workshops and programs will be developed for hands-on training for professionals from the Ministry and QU students covering the topics relating to land transport, logistics support services and traffic safety.Additionally, MOTC employees who meet QU’s master’s and doctoral programs’ requirements can resume their study with QTTSC on relevant subjects, according to QU’s applicable rules and procedures.“The Ministry of Transport and Communications continuously advocates for more cooperation and integration with educational institutions, particularly QU, to help harmonize its output with what the transportation and land transport industry needs. This also helps raise the sector’s competitiveness in terms of research and academic studies in addition to upskilling the human resources to achieve success in all areas,” said Mr. Abdulla.“This memo will provide an ample room for work with QU on developing various projects, studies and strategies that can contribute to developing land transport affairs, particularly the universal land transport,” he added.Mr. Abdulla also stressed that MOTC has always been keen to enhance engagement with QU on scientific, administrative, technological and research fields on all fronts relating to mobility and land transport.Dr. Naji said, "This memo between QU-CENG represented by Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Centre and the Ministry of Transport and Communications provides distinguished research and advisory services and stimulates sustainable economic and social development in the State of Qatar. It activates the social partnership and facilitates the transfer of knowledge and technology with MOTC. It also confirms the continuous endeavor by QU-CENG to find solutions to the challenges facing the transportation sector specifically in line with the national priorities towards a knowledge-based economy.""Through this memo, fields of cooperation diversify and multiply to include several horizons including studies, consultations, quality services and consulting services, in addition to workshops and specialized courses and investment in faculty members and summer training for students, as well as facilitating the exchange of information and field visits. Such efforts support the college’s endeavor to prepare the Qatari engineers who will proceed the renaissance and prosperity of the State of Qatar,” he added.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Qatar-Uruguay Air Services Agreement Signed

Doha – QatarHE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti today attended the final signing of an open skies air services agreement between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Uruguay.Signed at the Ministry offices today, the agreement comes within the framework of connecting the State of Qatar with more air services agreements, permitting its national carrier to expand its destinations all around the world.The agreement was signed by Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Chairman HE Mr. Abdulla bin Nasser Turki Al Subaey and HE the Ambassador of the Republic of Uruguay to Qatar Mr. Sere Jorge Antonio.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Minister Meets with Georgia Economy Minister

Doha – QatarHE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti met at Ministry offices today with HE the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Ms. Natela Turnava.The two ministers discussed aspects of cooperation in the fields of transportation, ports and communications and means of further enhancing them. They also discussed the investment opportunities available in these fields, in addition to boosting cooperation on Black Sea Express Service, which connects harbors between Greece, Turkey, Georgia and Russia. Moreover, the two officials discussed several matters of common interest between the two friendly countries.

Thursday, February 27, 2020

UPU Council of Admin. Endorses Qatar Resolution Calling on Int’l Bureau to Appoint 3rd Arbitrator as per General Regulations

The Council of Administration (CA) of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) voted in its meeting today for the resolution the State of Qatar had proposed and which affirms the right of the State of Qatar to restore postal services from and to the defendant countries (the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) through binding arbitration and “strongly urges” the UPU Director General to appoint a third arbitrator in accordance with its duties as per Article 153 (8) of the General Regulations of the UPU.The State of Qatar appreciates all efforts made by the UPU and its Member States to address the situation.The defendant countries (the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) have, jointly and without warning, imposed a series of coercive measures against the State of Qatar.Part of these measures was the suspension by postal service operators in the defendant countries of all postal services from and to the State of Qatar. Since then, the postal services operator of Qatar had neither been able to receive or send any postal correspondences to the defendant countries nor been able to even receive or send correspondences to other countries through them.The State of Qatar and the defendant countries are Member States of the UPU. Without a doubt, the stopping of postal services by the defendant countries with the State of Qatar violates the Constitution, Convention and General Regulations of the UPU. Article 32 of the UPU Constitution reads: “In the event of a dispute between two or more postal administrations of member countries concerning the interpretation of the Acts of the Union or the responsibility imposed on a member country by the application of those Acts, the question at issue shall be settled by arbitration.”On Sep. 20, 2018, the State of Qatar sent a notification to each of the defendant countries to start the arbitration process as per Article 32 of the UPU Constitution, requesting the founding of a court to settle the dispute resulting from the defendant countries’ suspending of postal services with the State of Qatar. The State of Qatar began the arbitration process to restore direct postal services from and to the defendant countries and to obtain compensations for the harms caused by the suspension of postal services since June 2017.The State of Qatar participated in the arbitration procedures in good faith in accordance with the text and soul of the UPU General Regulations. But, on the other hand and for more than a year, the defendant countries have been using one way after the other to hinder the founding of arbitration bodies and particularly to hinder the appointment of a third arbitrator for the arbitration bodies.Due to such a flagrant denial of the State of Qatar’s right of settling the dispute internationally as per the UPU regulatory framework, the State of Qatar, represented by the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), had to seek support from the CA of the UPU, which consists of 41 Member States. Early today, the CA passed a resolution proposed by the State of Qatar, which emphasizes the State of Qatar’s right to seek the restoration of postal services from and to the defendant countries through binding arbitration and “strongly urges” the UPU Director General to appoint a third arbitrator in accordance with its duties as per Article 153 (8) of the UPU General Regulations. The decision made today follows the decision the CA made previously, and which was endorsed during the meeting of the CA of the UPU in Oct. 2017 and which strongly urged the defendant countries to reestablish direct postal services with the State of Qatar. However, the defendant countries failed to comply with that decision.On this occasion, HE the President of CRA of Qatar Mr. Mohammed Ali Al-Mannai said “We are pleased with the endorsement by the UPU’s CA of that resolution and looking forward to establishing arbitration committees with no more unjustified delay and to settling the dispute caused by the postal measures taken by the defendant countries.”

Monday, February 24, 2020

Coronavirus screening for all ships at Qatari ports

Doha-Mwani Qatar has announced the commencement procedures for the detection and examination of all ships calling at Hamad Port, Ruwais Port and Doha Port, especially from countries that have reported cases of the emerging coronavirus infection, in addition to applying all health checks for ship crews to detect the virus."Mwani Qatar declares that (as a precautionary measure) it will reduce the entry of ships calling at Ruwais Port, preventing entry from 10pm to 7am," it said in a statement Sunday.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Qatar Maritime and Logistics Summit kicks off with more than 450 participants

Doha-Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Qatar Maritime and Logistics Summit officially inaugurated today at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort and Convention Hotel in the presence of HE Mr. Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications and number of Their Excellencies, Ministers, Ambassadors and VIPs.The summit, which is hosted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications over two-days, and organized jointly between Mwani Qatar as a strategic partner and Lloyds List brings together more than 450 experts, decision makers and specialists in the fields of ports, maritime and logistics sectors as well as representatives and members of international organizations such as the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS).In his opening speech, His Excellency Mr. Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications said: “The State of Qatar has worked to develop laws and legislations in the field of transport, and has invested widely under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar to develop infrastructure projects for the transport sector and its support services in order to keep pace with the changes and developments that are progressing, and to be a true legacy for future generations, thus achieving QNV 2030 goals”. His Excellency added that these investments have achieved a remarkable development for the maritime transport sector at all levels and contributed to placing Qatar with a leading position and a distinguished reputation on the map of the global maritime sector. He pointed out that Qatar has ranked 12th globally in the quality of port infrastructure in the World Bank's Competitiveness Report 2019, and it has jumped 4 places in the efficiency of seaport services index to become 15th globally.In terms of efficient logistics services, Qatar has ranked second in the Arab world and 30 globally, and its ranking rose from 26 to 9 globally in the international shipments index in just two years, which reflects the significant growth in the volume of Qatar’s international freight thanks to the advanced capabilities of Hamad Port and its important role in securing stable and sustainable supply chains that provide customers with integrated and competitive services.Hamad Port’s advanced infrastructure and modern technologies contributed to attracting international shipping companies and played an important role in smoothing handling operations, providing more comprehensive services and more solutions that allow customers to achieve maximum benefit in an ideal competitive environment for business, His Excellency the Minister explained.Moreover, these differential advantages and close relations that were built with global partners have strengthened Qatar's commercial share and contributed to transform Hamad Port into a regional transshipment hub with annual transshipment growth of 30% in 2019. To enhance this growth in the coming years, agreements have been signed with the major shipping companies in the world, He added.The Qatar Maritime and Logistics Summit focuses on industry-wide, long-term challenges and opportunities as well as a number of important topics such as trade, global trends, port development, financing, technology, digital security, cybersecurity, safety, security and sustainability and many other topics related to shipping, port and logistics sectors.The high-level event reinforces efforts to enhance Qatar role at the level of the global maritime transport map, in addition to supporting Ministry of Transport and Communications’ strategic plan aimed to transform Qatar into a vibrant regional commercial and logistical hub. The Ministry seeks to promote Qatar’s ports and logistics sectors to keep pace with growth and benefit from global experiences in these fields, strengthening Qatar's position on the global maritime transport map, as well as boosting Hamad Port's commercial share in the region and the world, especially after the great success it has achieved within a short period of operation.In its first edition, the Qatar Maritime and Logistics Summit will focus on the challenges that the maritime transport, port and logistics sectors facing between 2020 and 2030. With a focus on transportation, the summit will establish expectations for a logistics sector in transition, and a realignment of maritime with these expectations. The next decade is likely to see a closer alignment of the maritime and logistics sectors. This alignment will coincide with two trends of global significance that will increasingly shape the decisions we take about investment in the infrastructure needed to keep maritime and logistics businesses active. These trends are, firstly, a deeper concern for sustainability — most obviously in the need to protect a vulnerable environment — and, second, a keener perception of the impact of next-generation technologies on the world of work, particularly related to transportation.The QMLS 2020 will include 15 topics spread across 4 sessions, all scheduled with high-level networking and interaction, identifying which trends are likely to have the greatest impact on transportation in the Middle East region and world-wide, and how swiftly we will need to act on these trends to stay in business. The summit’s first Session addressed Financing maritime and logistics 2020-2030 and the Supply chain in a changing world. Under the title of “Liquefied Gas Transport in Transition”, the second session discussed Global trade trends in 2020-30, Changing world trade patterns and their impact on maritime and logistics, Sustainability in LNG shipping, Safety in the LNG supply chain 2020-30, Sustainability and the supply chain in 2020-2030. The Session 3 featured topics about Liner shipping between 2020 and 2030 and how port businesses are a critical node in the transport network and in the final session, experts have discussed supply chains and shipping in the age of change and safety 2020-2030.The findings will be drawn together to build an understanding of how global transport hubs will evolve throughout the 2020s. The summit will conclude on Wednesday 19 February 2020 with a field tour in Hamad Port, were the participants will have the opportunity to explore port’s facilities, stages of development and the cutting-edge technology that port has features, and by setting the agenda for the next Qatar Maritime and Logistic Summit.