News | Ministry of Transport

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Minister Holds Talks with Sudanese Counterpart

Doha – Qatar HE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti met here today with his Sudanese counterpart Minister of Transportation, Roads and Bridges HE Eng. Makawi Mohamed Awad.The two officials discussed starting the execution of the first phase of the MoU signed between the Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) and the Port of Port Sudan for developing the Sudanese Port of Suakin.They also discussed initiating the establishment of Suakin’s infrastructure to boost its operations with a view to making it a main trade gateway in the region.Bolstering transit trade to neighboring countries as well as at the Port of Suakin free zone, and potential investment opportunities in transportation and ports, were also in the center of discussion at the meeting.Minister Al Sulaiti thanked the Government of Sudan for unlimited cooperation and tremendous facilitations it had provided to execute the first phase of the project, stressing the strength of Qatar-Sudan ties.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

“OSHAIRIJ” Launches Direct Container Feeder Service between Qatar, Iraq

Umm Qasr – IraqOSHAIRIJ vessel, affiliated to Qatari maritime transport and logistics conglomerate Milaha, has launched a direct container feeder service between Qatar and Iraq.The ship departed Hamad Port on Monday, May 7, and arrived at Umm Qasr Port today, Wednesday, May 9.The new service will be initially served with this only one vessel (OSHAIRIJ) with a 1,015 TEU capacity and 110 reefer plugs. The service takes a transit time of only 2 days, making it particularly ideal for dry and refrigerated foodstuffs, electronics, building materials and other cargo.The new service follows a Hamad Port-Umm Qasr-Shuwaikh (Kuwait)-Hamad Port rotation.The direct container feeder service between Qatar and Iraq enhances their already-growing trade and economic relations and provides Iraqi customers and partners with more flexibility via providing bigger seaport coverage and making navigation faster.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Minister Holds Talks with German Ambassador to Qatar

Doha – QatarHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti held a meeting here today with HE Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Mr. Hans-Udo Muzel.The meeting discussed cooperation between Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany in the fields of transportation and communications and means of further enhancing them.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

MOTC Holds Government Enterprise Architecture Workshop

Doha – QatarThe Ministry of Transport and Communications has organized the “Government Enterprise Architecture Workshop” (GEA) at Rotana Hotel.The objective of the workshop is to build the practice of enterprise architecture in government entities in Qatar in alignment with the Qatar Digital Government Strategy.MOTC has developed a Government Enterprise Architecture and Standards document that has been approved by the Qatar Digital Government Steering Committee in January 2018 for adoption by the government entities. At the workshop, the government entities, after being introduced to the topic, performed some exercises on how to implement it.Attended by several representatives from ministries and government entities, the workshop included an introduction to the GEA and how it helps government entities provide more efficient services to end users. It then tackled the objectives and benefits of GEA, its tools and templates, government entities’ role in adopting it, and step-by-step guidelines on how those entities can create their catalogs and matrices.MOTC officials demonstrated through presentations the GEA benefits. They said it helps provide mechanism to track alignment of investments and initiatives against strategic goals and KPIs and measure performance of business and IT services against defined KPIs. It also leads to efficient on-going governance of government wide enterprise architecture and provides a clear guidance to promote compliance and adoption of GEA reference models within agencies’ enterprise architecture.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

MOTC Calls for Entries for WSA 2018 for Digital Innovation

Doha – QatarThe Ministry of Transport and Communications is now accepting applications at the national level for World Summit Awards for Digital Innovation 2018.The application process is open until this May 31. Individuals, public and private entities and companies are encouraged to join the competition by submitting their best digital innovations to compete on all categories. Winners will represent the State of Qatar at the global level.WSA 2018 categories reflect the United Nations WSIS action lines and are updated regularly to meet the development of the markets. The categories are: Government & Citizen Engagement, Health & Wellbeing, Learning & Education, Environment & Green Energy, Culture & Tourism, Smart Settlements & Urbanization, Business & Commerce and Inclusion & Empowerment.A local jury, to be formed by the national expert for the Awards from Qatar, who is MOTC’s Assistant Undersecretary for Digital Society Development Affairs HE Ms. Reem Al-Mansoori, will evaluate the submissions and select one qualified work for each category to represent Qatar globally.Evaluation is based upon the concept of excellence in content and creativity. After the national pre-selection period, a jury of eminent experts will come together to evaluate the submissions and select the 40 best products; 5 on each category. The 40 WSA winners will get the chance to present their products at the WSA World Congress – an event that offers a platform for high-level experts, industry leaders, and government representatives to discuss digital innovations.Any submitted product must be free of offensive or plagiarized content and may not violate human rights as laid out in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Submissions, which encourage war, the exercise of violence or discrimination, will not be accepted. Similarly, submissions that violate international copyright provisions will be excluded.All submitted works must have been done more than two years ago (after Jan. 1, 2016).Interested participants are requested to send information and details about their submissions to MOTC via wsa@motc.gov.qa. More information on the Awards, eligibility and rules and conditions are available hereThe World Summit Awards are a unique awards system, selecting and promoting local digital innovation with high impact on improving society. Combining an ongoing series of international events and activities with a global network of start-ups, social entrepreneurs, mentors, jurors, speakers, experts, government leaders, academia and civil society, WSA is an international platform for cut edge examples on how ICTs can have an impact on society. Running 15 years by now, WSA has become a quality seal for digital content with societal impact in over 180 participating countries.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Qatar Voluntarily Contributes $1 Million to ICAO’s “ No Country Left Behind” Campaign

Montreal- CanadaHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti has announced a $1-million contribution by the State of Qatar to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)’s “ No Country Left Behind” Campaign (NCLB).The NCLB campaign highlights ICAO’s efforts to assist States in implementing the Organization’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs). The main goal of this work is to help ensure that SARPs implementation is better harmonized globally so that all States have access to the significant socio-economic benefits of safe and reliable air transport. Priority fields are air navigation safety and security.This came during a reception and dinner event Qatar organized under the patronage of HE the Minister, who was also in attendance, to mark the inauguration of Qatar’s Permanent Office at ICAO in Montreal, Canada.Senior officials representing the civil aviation industry attended the event, led by President of the ICAO Council Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, representatives of all Member States and some officials from the Government of Canada.Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Chairman HE Mr. Abdulla bin Nasser Turki Al Subaey, Ambassador to Canada HE Mr. Fahad Mohammed Yousif Kafood, Qatar Aeronautical College Director General HE Sheikh Jabor bin Hamad Al-Thani and the Director of International Organizations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Yousef bin Sultan Yousef Laram, were in attendance. The event was also attended by a number of officials from the Ministry of Transport and Communications and CAA.Qatar ranked among the world’s top countries in civil aviation safety, according to ICAO’s safety audit reports released in 2017, scoring 99.10% in implementing the guidelines of Annex 17 on Safeguarding International Civil Aviation Against Acts of Unlawful Interference. Annex 17 is the most important benchmark in terms of civil aviation safety.This reflects the great advances Qatar has achieved in the field of aviation and airport security, thus boosting its ranking amongst world countries.In addition, it was announced at the event that Qatar will host the fifth ICAO Global Aviation Training & Trainair Plus Symposium, this December, which is one of the largest training conferences in the field of aviation, which expects over 500 participants from around the world.