News | Ministry of Transport

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Minister Meets with UN Delegation

Doha – QatarHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti met here today with a delegation from the United Nations headed by the Chief of Crime Prevention and Anti-Money Laundering with the UN Office in Vienna Mr. Neil Walsh.The meeting discussed enhancing cooperation between the State of Qatar and the UN in the fields of communications and transportation and means of employing new applications that will be used in the modes of communications and transport.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Ministry Launches Mobile Application

Doha – Qatar The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) today launched its application for cellphones and smart devices, aiming to help users access and execute the e-services they need easier and faster. The app also displays valuable information about the Ministry, as well as its events.At the launch, the Ministry revealed that 25 new e-services are now available in the field of maritime transport affairs, relating specifically to small and large vessels.“This comes in the context of MOTC’s ongoing endeavors to deploy e-government system standards nationwide as well as the objectives of the Qatar Digital Government 2020 Strategy, which aims to better serve individuals and business, create efficiency in government administration and increase government openness;” said Noor Shahdad, Director of International Relations and Acting Director of Public and Relations and Communications at MOTC.MOTC is set to make all its e-services available on its mobile application in the future. It plans to add land transport e-services as soon as the relevant land transport laws and regulations are officially released.Ms. Mashal Ali Al-Hamadi Director of E-Goverment Programs & Standards Director and Acting MOTC’s Information Systems Dept. said the application “is now available on Apple and Android stores, making it easier and faster to reach the Ministry’s information, events, news and services published on the MOTC website.”Deploying the best technologies and streamlining e-services were undertaken when designing and developing this mobile application in order to help users access and complete their e-services quickly and smoothly, she added.“This will make people visit the Ministry’s offices less frequently as they are now able to make their requests anytime anywhere around the clock. The application also helps users contact the Ministry directly via multiple channels and social media platforms that are available in the app,” Al-Hamadi explained.She said that the application is reliable in terms of cybersecurity, having been tested and verified by the Qatar Computer Emergency Response Team (Q-CERT), she added.Small vessel and jet ski ownership transfers, adding or removing an owner to small vessels, issuing a certificate for small vessel owners and issuing a minimum safe manning certificate are among the new e-services revealed today.MOTC places considerable attention on developing its services and making them accessible and available anytime, anywhere, for the best user experience and highest satisfaction; She added; Al-Hamadi added.Other maritime transport e-services include the issuance of certificates to whom it may concern, certificates on deletion of a large vessel, certificates of insurance validity, replacement certificates and rodent-free certificates.Aiming for best service delivery, MOTC today signed an agreement with Qatar Post for the delivery of the certificates and ownership cards for the transactions completed via the mobile application or Ministry website, to their respective individuals and companies.The agreement was signed by Mr. Hassan Al-Hail, Advisor to HE the Minister of Transport and Communications, and Qatar Post Chairman and Managing Director Mr. Faleh Al Naemi.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Minister Holds Talks with India’s Aviation Minister

Mumbai – IndiaHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti held talks with India’s Minister of State for Civil Aviation HE Mr. Jayant Sinha, on the sidelines of his participation in the Global Aviation Summit that opened in Mumbai today.The two ministers discussed aspects of cooperation in the fields of transport and aviation services and means of further enhancing them. They also discussed means of benefiting from potential investment opportunities in these areas, in addition to a number of matters of common interest. Qatar Airways Group CEO HE Mr. Akbar Al-Baker, Civil Aviation Authority Chairman HE Mr. Abdullah bin Nasser Turki Al-Subaey and Qatar’s Consul General in Mumbai HE Mr. Saif bin Ali Al Kashashi Almohannadi attended the meeting.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

HE Minister Meets with Chinese Ambassador to Qatar

Doha, QatarHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti met here today with HE Chinese Ambassador to the State of Qatar Mr LI Chen.The meeting discussed aspects of cooperation between the State of Qatar and the People’s Republic of China in the fields of transport and communications and means of further enhancing them.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

MOTC QFC Sign MoU to Boost Digital Tech Industry Development

Doha - QatarThe Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) and the Qatar Financial Centre signed a MoU for cooperating in all areas related to the technological and economic development of the State of Qatar and the development of a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in all sectors of society.Signed at MOTC offices today, the MoU aims at supporting the activities or projects that help raise the digital industry’s contribution to the Qatari GDP.The two parties will also work together on improving the competitiveness of the local digital sector and supporting the activities aimed at attracting local and international investments and companies.The MoU was signed by MOTC’s Assistant Undersecretary for Digital Society Development Affairs Ms. Reem Al-Mansoori and QFC CEO Mr. Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida.As per the MoU, the two parties intend to support digital development in the field of information and communication technology and its adoption in Qatar for high priority segments of society such as the youth, entrepreneurs, startups, SMEs and others.The MoU has special areas of focus. All of them fall in the context of developing the digital and technological industry as well as the programs and projects that MOTC executes toward that end such as the Smart Qatar Program (TASMU) and relevant innovation and research areas through the exchange of knowledge among stakeholders.Economic development is also another area of focus through promoting and attracting global e-commerce and e-commerce related technology companies and driving digital investments in Qatar jointly through initiatives the two parties organize.“We are delighted to have signed this MoU with QFC, which comes within the context of MOTC’s digital industry competitiveness enhancement mechanisms, through boosting entrepreneurship, research and innovation. This MoU will offer a significant platform for constructive cooperation and a broader and more pragmatic coordination toward what we aim for,” said Ms. Al-Mansoori.“The State of Qatar,” she added, “is committed to building a smart, vibrant and robust ICT sector as one of the fundamentals for a knowledge-based economy. Today’s MoU is a key step toward benefiting from QFC’s expertise and visible support for Qatar’s digital and technological industry agenda.”We will work together to improve potential and competitiveness through the TASMU Digital Valley, specialized e-commerce programs and Smart Qatar Program TASMU, she noted.Mr. Al-Jaida said; “We are proud to work closely with the Ministry of Transport and Communications to further advance the technological and economic development of Qatar. By increasing the digital industry’s contribution to Qatar’s GDP we can help improve the competitiveness of the sector, thereby attracting both local and international investments, which remains the key mandate of the Qatar Financial Centre.”“I am confident that this valued partnership will further support our efforts towards realizing the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030, in particular, the economic development pillar which emphasizes economic diversification, in which the digital sector plays a crucial role,” he added.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Minister approves amendment of network rollout, coverage obligations

Doha-QatarHE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti has approved the amendment of the network rollout and coverage obligations of Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar licences for the provision of public mobile telecommunications networks and services. The amendments adopted unified obligations for both companies related to the Second Generation (2G), Third Generation (3G), and Fourth Generation (4G) networks that are in accordance with the amendments of the Annexure (G) of the network rollout and coverage obligations of both companies’ licences related to public mobile telecommunications networks and services. Also, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has issued decisions to grant the radio spectrum licences to both companies for the deployment of the Fifth Generation (5G) commercial networks in Qatar as of January 2019. In addition, the CRA has unified all prior existing radio spectrum licences and replaced them with a single document ‘Radio Spectrum Licence’ that includes harmonised terms and conditions for both companies. In the mentioned radio spectrum licences, the CRA has initially assigned to each company 100MHz within the 3500 - 3800MHz frequency band for the commercial deployment of 5G networks. Under the radio spectrum licences, the two companies will be committed to rollout the 5G networks before the end of 2020 in all densely populated areas, all primary roads and highways, as well as all venues associated with the FIFA 2022 World Cup, including stadiums and fan zones.“Unifying the obligations of telecommunications companies for the 2G, 3G, and 4G networks is a very important step towards the development of a sustainable and fair competition in the telecom market in Qatar. “This will benefit the sector and consumers at the same time as the companies are keen to provide competitive, innovative, and high quality services, and that will contribute to the development of the Information and Communications (ICT) sector in the state of Qatar,” said HE al-Sulaiti.“The CRA was keen to facilitate the introduction of 5G technology to the state of Qatar, and to assign the necessary frequencies to telecommunications companies in Qatar. Qatar will be one of the first countries in the world to launch 5G commercial services, which undoubtedly will contribute to the achievement of Qatar National Vision 2030 goals by ensuring the sustainable development of the ICT sector. “On behalf of the CRA, I would like to thank all stakeholders and telecommunications companies for their cooperation and efforts to contribute to the development of the sector,” said CRA president Mohamed Ali al-Mannai.