News | Ministry of Transport

Friday, November 1, 2019

MoTC and TÜViT sign MoU to set up GCC's First Technology Vetting Lab in Qatar

Doha-QatarThe Cybersecurity Affairs Sector at the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TÜViT. TÜViT is a German company and subsidiary of TUV Nord – a key player in setting international standards in Information Technology (IT) and a trusted vendor for setting up the first National Vetting Lab in the GCC and Arab states. The new technology lab aims to test security products for functionality and vet ICT products, while enhancing the security standards in the country. The lab will be the first of its kind not only in Qatar but in the GCC region and Arab States.The MoU was signed by Eng. Nora Yousef Al-Abdulla, Director of Critical Information Infrastructure Protection at the Cyber Security Sector, MoTC and Mr. Frank Beuting, General Manager IT Security, TÜViT.“We are delighted to partner with TÜViT to set up the first regional Qatar National Laboratory for Technology Vetting (Common Criteria Vetting Lab) in GCC and the Arab States. The MoU reflects our commitment towards building safer, smarter and more resilient digital cities. We believe the Technology Vetting Lab will be an asset to the country and will be at the heart of the cybersecurity sector in Qatar,” said Eng. Al-Abdulla.“In line with Qatar’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, we will be focusing on several product categories for different sectors including oil and gas, IoT, smart cities and autonomous vehicles. QITCOM 2019 was a launchpad for us to announce the lab’s arrival and our vision of creating safer and smarter cities,” she added.The lab process begins with vendors (technology developers) submitting a request to the lab to check hardware and software products. The lab conducts an extensive investigation into the products and issues certificates as needed. The entire process takes around 6 months to 1 year for each product.Mr. Dirk Kretzschmar - Managing Director, TÜViT, added, “Qatar’s focus on cybersecurity propelled us to work with them on one of the most integral and exciting projects in the GCC, considering this will be the first lab we will help setup in the region. The first phase of the lab is in its final stages and nearing completion. We are looking forward to making it operation-ready by the end of Q4 – 2019.”The security lab has been built to ISO standards and will be audited every two years to ensure it is up to the standards of the Common Criteria Recognition Agreement, an international agreement between 31 nations. This state-of-the-art technology lab is set to boost Qatar’s Cyber Security sector.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Minister of Transport and Communications attends signing of framework agreement with Qnbn on fiber optic network rollout

Doha –His Excellency Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications, has attended the signing of a framework agreement between the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) and the Qatar National Broadband Network "Qnbn” on the fiber-optic network rollout on the sidelines of the Qatar IT Conference & Exhibition (QITCOM 2019).Under the agreement, government bodies will be able to use fiber optics to meet the needs of their infrastructures safely and link their various sites in the State.The agreement was signed by Hassan Jassim Al Sayed, Assistant Undersecretary of Information Technology Affairs at the MOTC, and Dr. Eng. Ahmed Salman Al-Sulaiti, Qnbn Chief Executive Officer.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Smart City Expo Doha ends with the signing of two-year extension agreement

DOHA- QATARThe first edition of the Smart City Expo Doha (SCE Doha), held on the sidelines of the Qatar IT Conference & Exhibition (QITCOM 2019), ended on Thursday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Transport and Communications and Fira de Barcelona, the organisers of the Smart City Expo World Congress, to host the event annually for two more years.The agreement was signed by Her Excellency Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society at the Ministry of Transport and Communications and Ricard Zapatero, the International Business Director at Fira de Barcelona.Commenting on the occasion, Her Excellency Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, said, “We are delighted to successful host the first edition of the Smart City Expo Doha which has exceeded our expectations. We are happy to partner with Fira de Barcelona in achieving this milestone and we are happy to announce that the event will now be held annually for the next two years.”She added, “Qatar launched the Smart Qatar “TASMU” initiative in 2017 with a promise to make Qatar a 100 percent smart country within seven years. We are happy to say that we are now at 44 percent and every year we are offering a lot of smart solutions, innovations and technology and a market that is evolving around smart solutions. We believe that the years ahead hold a lot of promises for this initiative and we look forward to welcoming everyone again next year.” The two-day event, held on October 30 and 31, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda, and it attracted the participation of the several dignitaries including four ministers. The sessions involved 78 facilitators including 47 international speakers from 24 countries and 31 local speakers.Ricard Zapatero, the International Business Director at Fira de Barcelona, said, “We have been developing the Smart City Expo in many countries around the world and we've had many editions but the discussions in Doha is the most relevant we've had till date. It is the most significant and the best in terms of the quality of organisation, participation, speakers and the overall product. We are happy to collaborate with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and we are delighted to welcome Qatar to the Smart City World Congress in Barcelona. We promise to do our best to promote Qatar as one of the best places to look to when people are talking about smart cities as Qatar has not just become part of the Smart Cities initiative but a trendsetter.”

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Ministry Launches Qatar National Cryptographic Standard

Doha – QatarThe Ministry of Transport and Communications today launched the Qatar National Cryptographic Standard, which sets lawful and technical basis for using cryptography in the State of Qatar.MOTC has already made major progress in the development of the Standard and upgrading it continually in line with latest universal techniques, criteria and practices and according to the Qatar National Cryptographic Policy.The Standard aims, amongst with other goals, to provide recommendations for the safe use of cryptography across all entities and proposes algorithms and parameters suitable for defined periods.Therefore, this Standard defines the specifications of existing cryptographic mechanisms, which are still considered safe at the time of applying the standard.This Standard is intended for all organizations in Qatar and others that are responsible for providing and using cryptographic services to meet identified security requirements and also covers cryptographic methods; symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic schemes, Hash functions, signature algorithms and cryptographic protocols.The main goal of this Standard is providing these organizations with sufficient information to allow them to take decisions about the cryptographic methods that will meet their specific needs to protect the confidentiality and integrity of data that is transmitted and/or stored in a system or network, as well as to obtain assurance of its authenticity.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Minister of Transport and Communications meets Armenian Minister of High-Tech Industry

Doha –His Excellency Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications, today met with Hakob Arshakyan, Minister of High-Tech Industry in the Republic of Armenia, on the sidelines of the Qatar IT Conference & Exhibition (QITCOM 2019).The two ministers discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the ICT sector along with other issues of mutual concern.The meeting was attended by Armenian Ambassador to Qatar Gegham Gharibjanyan.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

HE Minister witnesses preliminary Satellite Network Service Areas agreement with his Somali counterpart

Doha –On the sidelines of the Qatar IT Conference & Exhibition (QITCOM 2019), His Excellency Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications, witnessed the signing of a preliminary agreement by His Excellency Mohammed Ali Al-Manna, President of the Qatari, Communications Regulatory Authority and His Excellency Abdi Ashur Hassan, Minister of Post, Telecom and Technology of the Federal Republic of Somalia. The agreement for the ‘Mutual Inclusion of Each Other’s Territories in the Service Areas of their Satellite Network’ was signed between the two countries. Afterwards, both ministers discussed how to strengthen cooperation in postal and ICT services, along with addressing a number of other issues of mutual concern.The meeting was attended by Somali Ambassador to Qatar, Abdul Razak Farah.