The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the US Chamber of Commerce and the US Embassy in Qatar discussed the advantages of the digital economy in the State of Qatar, mechanisms for its development, and the role of American digital companies in contributing to this.
This came during a virtual roundtable meeting, which included Minister of Communications and Information Technology HE Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce and the US Embassy in Qatar, as well as representatives from the Qatari and US private sectors and officials from both sides.
During the meeting, the minister reviewed the ministry’s vision in the field of the digital economy and stressed the great interest that Qatar attaches to the development of the digital economy sector in the country.
He also focused on the significant role that US companies have played in strengthening Qatar’s digital economy as well as the many opportunities there are to expand the digital relationship between the US and Qatar.
The event also served as the formal launch of the US Chamber’s ICT Regulatory and Policy Landscape of Qatar white paper. This white paper was created by the US-Qatar Chamber for Digital Economy and the ICT Working Group, to outline Qatar’s digital economy ecosystem and provide analysis and recommendations for key areas such as cloud services, data privacy, cybersecurity, and digital transformation.
Moreover, Mannai praised the expansion of the partnership with the US Chamber of Commerce, which will contribute to materializing Qatar National Vision’s goal of building a knowledge-based digital economy.
The minister said, “The objective of this partnership is to enable joint work, knowledge transfer in the domain of information and communication technology, and to benefit from worldwide experience in order to transfer our economy into an advanced, and competitive digital economy.”
He further stressed the effort Qatar has put in speeding up the transition to a digital and sustainable economy, through enabling the economic expansion of information and communication technology, via widening the scope of technologies, such as high-speed internet, broadband internet access, and computing.
The minister asserted that making use of these technologies attains development, which is reflected in the fact that Qatar raised its rank in international internet spread, service digitalization, and communications infrastructure indexes. Moreover, technology does not only improve societies but rather increases Investment returns.
Vice President of Middle East Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce Steve Lutes said, “The US Chamber of Commerce commends the State of Qatar on its embrace of a forward-thinking digital policy ecosystem. Digital technologies are playing a vital role in building the future economy of Qatar and accelerating its digital transformation.”
“The manner in which Qatar develops and implements policies that regulate the digital sector will be an important factor in attracting and retaining investment from global companies and facilitating an enabling environment for the growth of a knowledge-based economy.”
He added that the Chamber’s US-Qatar Digital Economy and ICT Working Group is delighted to release its digital policy paper and looks forward to working with the ministry on these recommendations going forward.
The former Charge d’Affaires at US Embassy in Qatar, Ian McCary, said, “The creation of MCIT highlights the importance and priority the State of Qatar has placed on its digital transformation, consistent with Qatar National Vision 2030. I am proud and very impressed by the close partnership MCIT enjoys with a multitude of US companies.”