President of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), Mohammed Ali Al-Mannai met with the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Houlin Zhao, on the sidelines of the ITU Telecom World 2017 being held in Busan, South Korea from September 25 to 28.
The two officials discussed ways to enhance coordination between CRA and ITU towards development of the ICT sector, specifically financial and technical support for SMEs and young innovators in Qatar. Other topics of discussion included support for ITU technical publications, information sharing, regulation and standardization of upcoming innovative technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
"In the meeting with ITU Secretary-General, we discussed many ways to collaborate on sector development and further enhance the bilateral cooperation between the two organizations. We will continue to coordinate the work being done to embrace new technologies and innovations benchmarking against international best practices and standards, especially in consideration of the high level of technological adoption reached in Qatar," said H.E. Al-Mannai.
ITU Telecom World 2017 is an international platform for accelerating information and communication technology (ICT) innovations and partnerships. The event runs from September 25 to 28, and aims to fast-track economic development and social good through its forum for sharing knowledge, exhibition for digital solutions, and business networking hub connecting nations, companies, organizations and individuals. It is organized annually by ITU, the United Nations' specialized agency for ICT-related issues.