Doha, October 31 (QNA) - The Smart City Expo Doha, which was held on the fringes of the Qatar IT Conference and Exhibition (QITCOM 2019), concluded with the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) and Fira de Barcelona, the organizer of the Smart City Expo World. Under the agreement, Doha will host the event annually for an additional two years.

MOTC's Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development Reem Al Mansoori expressed her happiness over hosting the first edition of the Smart City Expo Doha, saying that its success exceeded all expectations.

"We are delighted to partner with Fira de Barcelona to achieve this milestone, and we are pleased to announce that this event will be held annually in the next two years."

She added that the State of Qatar launched the Qatar's smart initiative "TESMU" in 2017 with the aim of transforming Qatar into a fully smart country within seven years, stressing that 44% of the program has been achieved. Each year, she said, the ministry offers a number of smart solutions, innovations and technologies in addition to a market focused on smart solutions, which makes the coming years augur well for achieving greater achievement.

Ricard Zapatero, the International Business Director of Fira de Barcelona, said that the company has developed the Smart City Expo in many countries around the world, adding that many editions have been held, but the discussions in Doha event were the most relevant to the goal of the conference.

He said that Smart City Expo Doha is the most important and best conference in terms of quality of organization, participation, speakers and overall results, expressing his company's happiness over cooperation with the MOTC, while welcoming the participation of the State of Qatar in the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.

He stressed that his company is doing its utmost to enhance cooperation with the State of Qatar to strengthen its position as one of the best destinations that everyone should consider when talking about smart cities, adding that Qatar is no longer just part of the Smart City initiative but has become a leader in this area.

Smart City Expo Doha 2019 aims to gather Smart City experts from all around the world to discuss and think of possible solutions to the challenges cities are facing nowadays by means of innovation and new technologies that are advancing the urban future. (QNA)