Doha – Qatar

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S 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 HE Minister of Communications and Information Technology 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, HE the Minister of Communications and Information Technology reviewed the ministry's vision in the field of the digital economy and stressed the great interest that the State of Qatar attaches to the development of the digital economy sector in the country. HE the Minister also focused on the significant role that U.S. companies have played in strengthening Qatar’s digital economy as well as the many opportunities there are to expand the digital relationship between the U.S. and Qatar, in addition to many opportunities available to expand the digital relationship between Qatar and the United States.

This event is considered an official launch of the U.S. Chamber’s ICT Regulatory and Policy Landscape of Qatar white paper. This white paper was created by the Chamber’s U.S.-Qatar Digital Economy and ICT Working Group, to contribute to the development of Qatar’s digital economy ecosystem and provide analysis and recommendations for key areas such as cloud services, data privacy, cybersecurity, and digital transformation.

HE Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai said, "We are intending to expand this partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which will contribute to achieving our national vision of building a digital knowledge-based economy. "Through the partnership, we also seek to enable joint work and exchange of experiences in the ICT sector, and to benefit from global experiences to transform our economy into a sophisticated, digital and competitive economy.”

HE the Minister added: "The State of Qatar has paid great attention to accelerating the process of digital and sustainable economic transformation by enabling ICT to achieve economic growth that depends on expanding the range of technologies such as high-speed internet, mobile broadband, and computing, and by taking advantage of these technologies to achieve growth. That growth has been reflected in the progress made by our country in the relevant global indicators on the spread of the internet and the digitization of services and communication infrastructure. Technology not only improves communities but also boosts returns on investments.”

Steve Lutes, Vice President for Middle East Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said, “The U.S. 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. How 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. To that end, the Chamber’s U.S.-Qatar Digital Economy and ICT Working Group is delighted to release our digital policy paper and looks forward to working with Minister Al Mannai on our recommendations going forward.”

Ian McCary, Chargé D’Affaires at U.S. Embassy Doha, said, “the creation of MCIT highlights the importance and priority the State of Qatar has placed on its digital transformation, consistent with Vision 2030. I am proud and very impressed by the close partnership MCIT enjoys with a multitude of U.S. companies.”