Qatar seeks economic diversification, becoming a leader in artificial intelligence

(MENAFN- Peninsula) Joel Johnson | Peninsula

Doha: Qatar is among the countries leading the race to “strategically focus” on artificial intelligence (AI) as a key sector, according to experts at PWC. The country is accelerating its economic diversification efforts and positioning itself as a leader in AI innovation by integrating the technology into its National Development Strategy (NDS-3).

However, it reflects a broader vision of using cutting-edge technologies to increase global competitiveness and achieve sustainable goals.

With “targeted investments” in AI research and application, and the creation of a solid foundation in regulation and services, market leaders say the country continues to position itself as a strategic market in the global technology landscape, indicating a commitment to seizing the opportunities offered by the digital era.

According to the industry leader, four strategic actions have been identified that are aligned with Qatar’s ambitions under NDS-3 and the National Digital Agenda (NDA). These include establishing a stable regulatory foundation for technology, focusing on data collection, management and standard practices across the public and private sectors.

“This involves implementing regulations that simplify and streamline data processing by creating unified templates and tools.

Such a foundation is crucial to feeding AI models with contextual and relevant data across the country,” the report explains. However, market experts in the country suggest that investment in sovereign national infrastructure through the construction of large-scale computer farms to support AI advancement, R&D and commercialization needs to be implemented vigorously.

The country should leverage existing partnerships with large-scale cloud solution providers and forge new alliances with AI integration companies to access new markets.

The paper also stated that “providing subsidized domestic computing infrastructure can significantly reduce costs for AI companies and encourage them to set up operations in Qatar, using access to infrastructure as a strategic advantage.

Qatar, on the other hand, is implementing technology into its national agenda to drive technological development, economic diversification and ensure its leadership in AI innovation.

Key strategies such as establishing a regulatory framework, designing a sovereign AI infrastructure, establishing an AI economic cluster, and applying AI in government and key sectors. These efforts are aimed at fulfilling Qatar’s NDS-3, increasing global competitiveness, and ensuring sustainable development in the digital era.

The experts further explained that it is equally important to create an AI economic cluster that offers value-added services to its tenants that are aligned with the NDS-3 outcomes. This includes leveraging the existing infrastructure of special economic and trade zones to build a national AI cluster that aims to nurture local AI companies and attract more global companies to Qatar.

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