Doha - Qatar

HE Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, met today with HE Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and his accompanying delegation, who is currently visiting Doha.

During the meeting, they reviewed the brotherly relations between the two countries and discussed new opportunities and areas of cooperation in the CIT sector, in addition to exchanging expertise in this field.

The meeting also addressed digital projects implemented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in preparation for Qatar's hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and modern technologies that will be used during the tournament, such as crowd management and communication services.

The two sides discussed cooperation opportunities, based on which a number of agreements in the fields of communications, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, will be signed in the near future.

The meeting was attended by Prince Mansour bin Khalid bin Farhan Al Saud, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a number of officials from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

On the other hand, HE Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Mannai accompanied HE Eng. Abdullah Alswaha on a tour of several modern technological centers and facilities affiliated with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in the presence of Prince Mansour bin Khalid bin Farhan Al Saud.

In this context, the Saudi Minister was briefed on the nature of the work of the Innovation Lab of Qatar’s Smart Program "Tasmu", the Assistive Technology Center "Mada", and the Government Contact Center.

At the Assistive Technology Center "Mada", HE Eng. Abdullah Alswah was introduced to the work of the Center, which was established in 2010 as an initiative to strengthen the concepts of digital inclusion and build an accessible technological society for people with functional limitations – Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and the elderly. The Center works through strategic partnerships to empower the educational sector, in order to ensure an inclusive educational system, cultural sector, and the society, to become more inclusive through CIT.

Through a briefing presentation, HE the Saudi Minister learned about the Center’s programs in building the capacities of partners, supporting the development and adoption of digital platforms, in accordance with global standards for digital accessibility, consultation offerings, spread of awareness, and the increase of the number of assistive technology solutions in Arabic through Mada Innovation Program, in order to enable equal opportunities for the participation of PWDs and the elderly in the digital society.

HE the Saudi Minister was briefed on the Innovation Lab’s goal in raising Qatar’s position as a center for technological innovation that focuses on promoting the digital transformation of services, national priorities, and the stimulation of the local innovation environment to achieve national results within the framework of its mission to create an integrated environment for the development of collaborative research and the adoption of innovative solutions according to national priorities and directions, through leading the national innovation ecosystem and introducing the open lab concept to the community.