Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s commitment to actively pursuing an economic diversification agenda has created several lucrative opportunities for investors.
The country invests substantially in AI under its National Vision 2030 while supporting research institutions like Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) to advance AI adoption across healthcare, finance, and smart cities, noted Dr. Zhu Shenggao, Vice President of AI, Huawei Cloud Middle East and Central Asia in an interview with the The Peninsula.
The launch of the local large language model, Fanar, strengthens regional AI capabilities, while applications in predictive analytics, automation, and public services accelerate economic growth.
He highlighted how digital innovation is driving growth and opportunities in AI, cloud computing, and emerging technologies in Qatar and the region.
Dr. Shenggao said, cloud computing adoption is expanding rapidly as businesses modernise their IT infrastructure. Qatar’s collaboration with Huawei on sovereign cloud solutions and HPC data centers supports AI, big data, and machine learning initiatives.
Further afield, the GCC region is embracing 5G, IoT, blockchain, and robotics to power smart cities, automation, and sustainable industries. These technologies enable advancements in autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure, and remote healthcare, while blockchain facilitates secure transactions and supply chain management. Huawei Cloud implements the Everything as a Service strategy, which comprises of Infrastructure as a Service, Technology as a Service, and Expertise as a Service, he added.
Regarding Infrastructure as a Service for global accessibility, Dr. Shenggao explained, KooVerse is Huawei Cloud’s global infrastructure, offering storage, computing, networking, and security with a unified architecture across 93 availability zones in 33 regions, serving over 170 countries. Enterprises can quickly access Huawei Cloud and global markets without building their own data centers or reinvesting in basic technologies.
He further noted that Qatar fosters a startup-friendly ecosystem through Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), QIA’s tech investment fund, and partnerships with leaders such as Huawei to build cloud and AI infrastructure. These investments are positioning Qatar and the GCC as leaders in digital innovation, unlocking new business opportunities, driving efficiency, and shaping the future of the digital economy.
Qatar is prioritising the development of its ICT sector as it aims to transform into a knowledge-based economy in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. The country has identified six critical factors – which include national innovation strategy, high research and development (R&D) levels and diverse funding options for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) – for establishing and maintaining a successful startup ecosystem
