The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) held today “Qatar ICT Forum 2023” at Alwadi Hotel Doha - MGallery with the aim of meeting with the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) ecosystem stakeholders and discussing key topics about the development of the ICT sector and the latest digital trends.
The forum was attended by His Excellency Mohammed bin Ali Al-Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology and other high-level officials, along with multiple experts and senior professionals from the local ICT sector and other sectors, in addition to representatives of academia, government entities in Qatar and global industry leaders.
The forum’s agenda included a couple of panels focused on the role of technology innovation for digital economy growth and perspectives on bridging the skills gap for digital acceleration. Furthermore, the event included an informative session with a series of presentations on the findings of CRA's ICT Sector Research Study conducted in 2022 and the regional market outlook. The forum also allowed for active open floor discussions, which involved various industry experts and stakeholders.
During the forum, His Excellency Mohammed bin Ali Al-Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology launched a report developed by CRA under the title: “Qatar’s ICT Landscape and Digital Trends 2022”, which was developed based on CRA’s large-scale strategic research study and is the first comprehensive study for the ICT sector focusing on its supply-side, and provides extensive sector data and information, as well as exploring gaps, challenges, opportunities for future ICT sector growth, and its potential to enable the digital economy. The report is instrumental in building measurements and insights for the sector for a wide audience from the ICT ecosystem stakeholders, including government entities, private enterprises, and potential investors.
His Excellency Mohammed bin Ali Al-Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology said: “We held this forum out of our eagerness to meet annually with key players and stakeholders in the ICT sector to exchange views and experiences. We are pleased to launch Qatar’s ICT Landscape and Digital Trends 2022 report, which represents a significant step towards measuring the digital economy and the ICT sector’s growth and maturity. The report fills a large gap in essential data and information about the sector, provides a unique perspective on the local market landscape, tracks global technology trends, and highlights key factors for growth. It is informative and illustrative and supports us in measuring progress towards our ambition for Qatar to become a digital hub and transfer to a knowledge-based economy.”
His Excellency added: “I would like to invite all stakeholders to leverage this report, join this continuous dialogue, and unify efforts towards building a sustainable ICT ecosystem that benefits businesses, individuals, and society at large. I would also like to thank all stakeholders who participated in the research study, as their valuable insights and perspectives helped us to form a deeper understanding of the ICT sector as an enabler of socio-economic growth and sustainability. The comprehensive insights will be translated into various strategic sector initiatives, policies, and regulations, which pave the way to steady progress towards transforming the State of Qatar into a leading digital hub at the regional and international levels and achieving the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.”
Qatar’s ICT Landscape and Digital Trends 2022 report can be downloaded via this link.