Huawei, a leading multinational tech company opened its new office in Qatar at the United Development Company (UDC), The Pearl Island. Commencing its operations in the country in 2003, Huawei has been working with telecom partners such as Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, HE Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, senior representatives from the Investment Promotion Agency of Qatar (IPA Qatar), United Development Company (UDC) Chairman Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman, officials from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Qatar and officials including the President for Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, Steven Yi.
Remarking on the opening ceremony, HE Al Mannai said: “Huawei is considered one of our important partners and is among the top leading companies in the field of information and communication technology. I am pleased to welcome Huawei’s new expansion in Qatar. There is no doubt that this will contribute to enhancing digital innovation and creating new digital opportunities in the Qatari market.”
President of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, Steven Yi, commented that “Today’s new office opening is a commitment to our future in Qatar. We are proud of our history in the country and Huawei will continue to support Qatar’s digital transformation through its cutting-edge technology solutions. I look forward to welcoming customers, partners, visitors, and Huawei team members to our new office. I am confident that this expansion will drive further recruitment of elite talent who will take the lead in achieving the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030, towards a leading sustainable digital society.”
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the event, Kamal Zian, Chief Cybersecurity and Privacy Officer at Gulf North Representative office, Huawei, said: “We are happy because we consider this opening as a new start here. We have been operating in Qatar for over 20 years now and we have been witnessing a lot of success together with our partners and customers.”
“For us, this is a new start to enlarge our operations here in Qatar for profitability, services, and more products to our customers whether its private and public sectors even the telecom sector as we have long-term partnerships and we are trying to continue this very strategic partnership to the future,” he added.
Following the ribbon cutting, experts including Eman Al Kuwari, Director of the Digital Innovation Department at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Fahad Ali Al Kuwari, Senior Manager of Investor Relations, IPA Qatar, and Kamal Zian Chief Cybersecurity and Privacy Officer at Gulf North Representative office, Huawei took part in a panel discussion to discuss the growing technology industry in the Qatari market.
During the discussion, Fahad Ali Al Kuwari lauded the milestone of Huawei and how explained how significant it is for the country to partner with major firms like Huawei and cope with the challenges in addition to attracting businesses.
Eman Al Kuwari outlined the current trends including artificial intelligence (AI) and how the ministry works toward building the capabilities of technologies.
She said “Qatar’s AI strategies are built in six pillars like data access, education, employment, business and research and many areas that will guide the market and also how the companies can contribute to the AI solutions. In terms of the capabilities of all our solutions, this is only to bring better quality solutions to the citizens and residents in Qatar.”
From Huawei’s part, Kamal Zian noted that the journey of this success is not merely about the company but the partners, customers, and the Qatari regime. He said, “It’s a thank you message for all the ecosystem here in Qatar and advancing digital transformation.”
Zian highlighted that the organisation has been contributing towards the national digital infrastructure like implementing 5 G services in the country enabling a better customer experience.
“As we look forward to this opening, we consider this a new start for Huawei because we can see the digital transformation in the Middle East and Qatar."
"So in that perspective, we are committed to investing more into digital transformation, collaboration with techno partners, private partners, and government and private sectors to ensure our collaboration is fruitful,” he said.
The new headquarters will run and manage the operations such as Carrier Networks, Enterprise, Consumer, Cloud, and Digital Power.
CSR programs and initiatives like the flagship program, Seeds for the Future, and many more will also be carried out in the new hub.
Source: https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/14/06/2023/huawei-qatar-inaugurates-new-headquarters