Minister of Communications and Information Technology, H E Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai with Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia H E Eng. Abdullah Alswaha during his visit to Doha, yesterday.
Doha: Minister of Communications and Information Technology, H E Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, met yesterday with H E Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and his accompanying delegation during their visit to 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 (MCIT), 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 MCIT.
On the other hand Al Mannai accompanied H E Eng. Abdullah Alswaha on a tour of several modern technological centres and facilities affiliated with the Ministry 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”, Eng. 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, Eng. Alswah learned about the Center’s programmes in building the capacities of partners, supporting the development and adoption of digital platforms, in accordance with global standards for digital accessibility, consultation offerings, spreading awareness, and the increase of assistive technology solutions in Arabic through Mada Innovation Program, to enable equal opportunities for the participation of PWDs and the elderly in the digital society.
Eng. Alswah was also 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.
