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Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s commitment to smart and sustainable urban development is deeply embedded within its national aspiration expressed through the Third National Development Strategy and Digital Agenda 2030.
The journey is one of leveraging technology, innovation, and dynamic public-private ecosystem to transform the nation and enhance the quality of life for all, optimise city management and foster robust economic diversification, building sustainable life for future generations, Assistant Undersecretary for Digital Industry Affairs at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), H E Reem Mohammed Al Mansoori said during the launch of fourth edition of Smart City Expo Doha 2025, featured at MWC25 Doha, yesterday.
The event organised by Fira de Barcelona and MCIT focuses this year on the impact of AI in fields such as mobility, design, and urban management. It gathered global experts, policymakers, and innovation leaders to discuss the future of urban transformation and smart technologies.
Delivering the opening speech,
H E Reem Mohammed Al Mansoori said, “I would like to thank our long-standing partner Fira de Barcelona for working with us to bring this conference to Doha. Together, we have created a dynamic platform where the brightest mind, cutting-edge technologies, and visionary leaders unite to shape the future of urban landscapes. ”
Qatar believes in the power of advanced connectivity, and is one of the most connected countries in the world, over 99% of people use the Internet. Al Mansoori noted, this year’s theme, ‘Beyond connectivity, a digital solutions pathway to a smarter, thriving future’, is an opportunity to listen, to share, to ideate, and to create relationships ultimately to extend our ability as technology and urban leaders to improve the lives of everyone who lives and visits our cities. Smart urban technology is fundamental to our future, while being pivotal to our Digital Agenda 2030.”
Al Mansoori announced the new phase of the "Smart Qatar - Tasmu" programme, which includes the launch of over 30 national smart solutions over the next two years, in addition to establishing the National Digital Twin, a transformative initiative supported by sovereign data centers and world-class connectivity infrastructure acting as an ancillary tool for policymakers and a guarantor of professionalism in future planning.
Over the next two days, she added “we will explore five major themes - digital smart innovation, disruptive technology, digital economies and talent of the future, connected infrastructure, and the government of the future. These themes are integral to our Digital Agenda 2030, and the opportunities they present guide our investment of time and resource to build resilient, inclusive, future-ready nation.”
Globally, cities have always been and are increasingly the engines of innovation and economic growth. Cities create concentration of human and financial capital which work jointly to lead human innovation.
In an ever more complex world, smarter urban centers correlate with smarter and more forward-looking nations.
Qatar is inspired by a future where technology is applied to improve the lives of all. “And these global imperatives have helped to shape our national strategy commitment to urban development as part of the Third National Development Strategy, ensuring our nation is well equipped to thrive in the era of knowledge economy.”
Commenting about the key projects driving the country’s vision forward, Al Mansoori pointed out how Msheireb Downtown Doha is recognised globally as the world’s first sustainable downtown regeneration project, beautifully blending Qatari cultural heritage with advanced smart technology and 50 platinum and 49 LEED certified buildings.
She also highlighted that the Lusail City is the city of the future, rapidly evolving into a model of smart city driven by AI and real-time data analysis, integrating green standards and smart mobility solutions.
“Even if you do not visit these places, you will certainly all be beneficiary of the nationwide TASMU Smart Qatar programme, which help deliver cross-sector digital services in a holistic approach to digital transformation.”
“Our ambitions extended well beyond the smart cities and services, we have already created towards building a smart nation. To bring the nation with us, we must and are adopting an eco-first cross-sectorial digital transformation, which goes beyond government and government services, stimulating a thriving nationwide ecosystem designed to improve urban quality of life. Qatar is exceptionally able to do this, we are an urban nation with fantastic connected infrastructure,” Al Mansoori said.
Also speaking during the launch, CEO of Fira Barcelona International, Ricard Zapatero said, Smart City Expo started in Barcelona in 2011 and since that time “we have been growing. This year, we have been in New York, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico, and Argentina. And we are so happy to be in Doha back for the fourth time. That means a long-lasting relationship with a lot of trust, a lot of work, and a lot of projects that we are developing together.”
This is going to be an outstanding event. We talk about technology, but this is not about technology, this is about people. “Technology should help us to make people’s lives better and that’s what a smart city is. It’s to take the new technologies and make them work to improve people’s lives,” he said.
