News | Ministry of Transport

Monday, October 30, 2017

HE The Minister Holds Talks with Iranian Minister

Tehran – IranHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti met with Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister HE Mr. Abbas Akhoundi, in Tehran today.At the beginning of the meeting, HE Minister Al Sulaiti hailed the positive role of the friendly country Islamic Republic of Iran and its position toward the State of Qatar since the beginning of the current crisis in the Gulf region.The two officials discussed aspects of cooperation in the fields of transport, ports, and aviation and it has been agreed to form a joint committee to facilitate trade exchange and air and maritime transport, thus creating a joint foundation to serve mutual trade interests.The two officials also discussed a number of matters of common interest between the two friendly countries. The meeting was attended by HE Qatar’s Ambassador to Iran Mr. Ali bin Hamad Al Sulaiti.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Smart Qatar “TASMU” participates in G-STIC event in Belgium

Brussels, Belgium- The Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development in the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC), Ms Reem Al Mansoori, is leading a delegation of representatives for the TASMU program on a visit to Belgium from 23-25 October.The delegation is comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC), Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) and the Ministry of Public Health(MoPH). The trip aims to exchange expertise and explore potential collaboration areas between the two countries in the field of innovation. The delegation will also be meeting some of the leading Belgian ICT companies already established in the fields of smart city innovation and solutions, and is also attending the G-STIC Conference that focuses on the deployment of connected technological innovations with the aim of achieving sustainability. Ms Al Mansoori, delivered a talk at a specific G-STIC session about the TASMU program. Additionally, TASMU gave a presentation on potential collaborations with various institutions attending the conference.While in Belgium, a memorandum of understanding will be signed between TASMU and VITO, a leading European independent research and technology organization in the areas of cleantech and sustainable development. The memorandum will enable TASMU to share expertise in providing innovative and high-quality solutions, whereby large and small companies can gain a competitive advantage.On the final day of the trip, the Qatar delegation will head to Leuven to visit IMEC, a Belgian R&D innovation hub and the City of Antwerp’s partner in driving the “City of Things” Smart City IoT initiative. The two parties will be discussing potential collaboration and knowledge sharing in smart systems, digital health and energy.The Belgium visit forms part of TASMU’s global roadshow, whereby the delegation is travelling to smart cities around the world to leverage on their experience and foster a co-creation ecosystem to help realize a compendium of Smart Qatar use cases and smart services.

Monday, October 16, 2017

HE The Minister Meets with UK, Georgia Ambassadors

Doha – Qatar HE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti held separate meetings here today with HE the British Ambassador to Qatar Mr. Ajay Sharma and HE Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to Qatar Mrs. Ekaterine Meiering-Mikadze.The meetings discussed cooperation ties between Qatar and the two friendly nations in the fields of transportation and communication and means of further enhancing them.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

The Ministry Organizes Digital Government Services Awareness Workshop (1.1)

Doha – Qatar The new teaching staff of Texas A&M University-Qatar were introduced to the digital government services available online, at an awareness workshop organized by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) jointly with TAMUQ last week.Representatives from the Ministries of Interior, Education and Higher Education and Public Health also attended the induction workshop, which came within the framework of implementing the Qatar Digital Government 2020 Strategy and nationwide digital transformation plans.Attended by over 200 people, the workshop featured presentations by the ministries, highlighting a package of advanced government services that are available and accessible online for the public.Mr. Hassan Jassim Al-Sayed, the Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary of Government Information Technology Sector made a presentation about the latest developments and progress on the QDG 2020 Strategy, which, he said, was supported by three strategic objectives that determine where action will be taken to deliver benefits and value.The Strategy, he noted, aims to better serve individuals and businesses, create efficiency in government administration and increase government openness through enabled public participation from citizens and residents.He said the fact that all ministries and public entities are shifting to digital platforms is helping reduce or even eliminate paperwork and routine, thus saving time and effort and helping to complete transactions swiftly, which, in turn, leads to more efficiency and productivity.A presentation by the MOTC’s Hukoomi, the Qatar official e-Government Portal launched in 2008, showed a remarkable rise in the number of digital services available and accessible anywhere, anytime.Today after launching Hukoomi Phase 3, the portal carries information on about 1380 digital services. Some 690 of them can be accessed and executed by companies, citizens, residents, and visitors. They cover multiple sectors such as health, education, and business.The presentation estimated the number of Hukoomi visitors at more than 450,000 from nearly 80 countries. The number of Hukoomi account followers also climbed to nearly 60,000 on Facebook and 200,000 on Twitter.The Ministry of the Interior also said in a presentation that its Metrash2 application has been gaining more users from across the country thanks to the wide range of e-services it provides.Metrash2 provides more than 120 e-services in six languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Indian and Urdu.In its presentation, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education displayed a number of its best-performing e-services relating to employment, educational centers, independent schools registration and private schools licensing, among others.The Ministry of Public Health also displayed some of its online services relating to Hamad Medical Corporation, Primary Health Care Corporation and the Qatar Orthopedic and the Sports Medicine Hospital (Aspetar).HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani launched the QDG 2020 Strategy in May 2014, to create a more efficient, open and transparent government.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Ministry’s Digital Incubation Center Launches IdeaCamp

Doha – Qatar The Digital Incubation Center at the Ministry of Transport and Communications has launched the IdeaCamp - a new program for entrepreneurs, developers and designers who have great ideas for a technology solution.IdeaCamp offers a series of workshops, training, and mentorships for five weeks that will help entrepreneurs develop business models, build prototypes and test their ideas with local customers.By the end of the program, the entrepreneurs with successful ideas will join the DIC Startup Track to take their ideas to the next level, which begins this December 1.Online applications to join the IdeaCamp are received at ideacamp.qa until October 18, 2017. Applications then are screened and owners of the accepted applications are informed.The IdeaCamp is accepting applications for any technology idea. However, priority is given to entrepreneurs who submit ideas in the following technology areas: Blockchain, 3D printing and the Internet of things (IoT).The Digital Incubation Center (DIC) was created in 2011 to boost ICT innovation in Qatar, particularly among young people at the critical early stages of starting or growing a technology-related business.The DIC is looking for entrepreneurs capable of harnessing emerging technologies to create innovative products, solutions, or services that will contribute to Qatar’s digital economy.The DIC offers startups free office space, technical support, training and guidance, mentorship, as well as business planning and legal advice.To apply to join IdeaCamp: http://ideacamp.qa/en/#applyFor Further Information about the Digital Incubation Center (DIC) visit http://www.motc.gov.qa/en/dic

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Ministry launches its first 2017-2018 cyber security capacity building training course

Doha – Qatar Qatar Computer Emergency Response Team (Q-CERT) at the Ministry of Transport and Communications has held a training course entitled “Intrusion Detection in Depth” for a group of IT and information security specialists from governmental and semi-governmental entities.The training aims to equip the attendees who work in the government and critical information infrastructure sectors with the core knowledge, tools, and techniques to increase their information security defense capabilities.“The training is a part of a series of specialized training courses the Ministry will be held throughout this year and the coming year in the implementation of the National Cyber Security Strategy. The aim is to build local cybersecurity capabilities and increase institutions’ efficiency and readiness to combat cyberattacks,” said Mr. Khalid Al-Hashmi, the Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary of Cyber Security.“The courses will focus on a number of key specialized themes within the realm of cybersecurity. Those themes were selected based on the outcome of the national cybersecurity drill and the needs and requirements of various governmental and semi-governmental entities, let alone the new cyber threats that emerge in that sector,” he added.Held at Q-CERT offices at the Ministry premises and presented by a professional trainer from SANS Institute, the 5-day specialized training was attended by 20 information security specialists from multiple entities.Participants hailed the training course. Sr. Cybersecurity Eng. at Qatar Petroleum, Mr. Khalid al Kubaisi, commended the highly distinguished performance at the training, describing it as a step in the right direction that came on the right time to sharpen local capabilities in the realm of cybersecurity.The courses qualify the participants to perform the tests needed to obtain Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC), in addition to several other cybersecurity-related certifications.The Ministry offers the courses free of charge for Qatari specialists from governmental and semi-governmental entities and at a half-price discount for non-Qataris.This training course is part of Q-CERT training calendar which has been published on Q-CERT website www.qcert.org.