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Doha –

The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) signed at Qitcom seven MoUs with international organisations in support of the Smart Qatar ( “Tasmu” ) program that will create access to cutting-edge research and expertise, and serve as a platform for valuable international collaborations.

The MoUs were signed by MOTC’s Assistant Undersecretary for Digital Society Development, Ms. Reem Al-Mansoori, and senior managers from the Qatar Stock Exchange, International Smart City Research Centre in Beijing, Huawei, e-Government Academy of Estonia, and UI Labs on behalf of City Digital in Chicago.

“Smart Qatar will put Qatar among the world’s leading countries in the area of smart city tech and ICT. I am delighted to sign this series of MoUs with leading organizations in the field from Europe, the US, Asia, and Qatar”, Ms. Al-Mansoori explained.

On signing of the MoU, Mr. Rashid Al-Mansoori, CEO of the Qatar Stock Exchange, said that the agreement calls for collaboration in the areas of digital start-ups and SMEs. He added that the Smart Qatar program would create new opportunities for private sector entities in the ICT and tech sectors in Qatar, and that successful companies should consider a listing on the Venture Market in the future.

 Mr. Steven Fifita, Executive Director of UI Labs at City Digital in Chicago, told a press briefing that the MoU covers a range of areas, including mutual projects via Chicago-based workshops and pilots, and the implementation of R&D projects on Smart tech themes such as cloud, open data, big data analytics,  and the Internet of Things for Smart Cities.

 Dr Arvo Ott, Director of the e-Governance Academy of Estonia, welcomed the agreement which will create the mechanism for the exchange of information and expertise, identify mutual projects of interest and collaborations with the Digital Incubation Centre, and implement research and development programs.

 Mr. Wu Hong Hui, President of the International Smart City Research Centre in Beijing presented Ms Al Mansoori with a book containing the centre’s latest research and expressed his hope that a join publication would be possible in the near future. The MoU called for both entities to ‘develop and strengthen industrial, technological and commercial cooperation between the parties in the field of Smart Cities’, and exchange information on programs that foster collaboration.

 Huawei Qatar CEO and President, Mr. Zong Yan, signed the MoU and said that the company is well placed to support Smart Qatar by building new ICT infrastructure. The agreement covers six areas of collaboration; exchanges and collaboration in the field of ICT, talent development and training, supporting local ICT enterprise, technology evolution and R&D, digital society development, sustainability and CSR, and the sharing of experiences and expertise.

 Two further MoUs were signed in the cyber security area by MOTC’s Assistant Undersecretary for Cyber Security Affairs, Mr. Khalid Al-Hashmi. The first was with MITRE, a US not-for-profit organisation that works with federal governments around the world to solve complex problems and improve security. MITRE Executive Director Mr. Gabriel Galvan signed the agreement and expressed his hope for a close and fruitful cooperation.

The second MoU signed by Mr. Al-Hashmi was with Mr. Zong Yang, CEO, and President of Huawei Qatar. As per the agreement, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and Huawei are committed to five areas of collaboration: cyber intelligence sharing, joint innovation efforts, training courses development, cyber security awareness, and ICT products cyber security testing lab.