Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s infrastructure and the nation’s skillset are some of the key enablers for artificial intelligence (AI) to drive innovative solutions, explained an official.

Managing Director of Turkiye, Middle East, and Africa at Google Cloud, Abdul Rahman Al Thehaiban, told The Peninsula, that “Infrastructure in Qatar is the number one factor that enacts as the key driver for AI in the region.”

He emphasised the need to positively impact the residents in Qatar with the use of AI and other data-driven solutions in the technology sector. “The second main factor is the skillset and throughout the past year, we trained nearly 6,500 individuals who are ready to address the utilisation.”

Pointing out the third and most important factor to enable AI solutions, he highlighted the policy and regulation required for any cloud region, adding that “These three are very critical in order to implement in Qatar with coordination.”

He praised the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology for working towards addressing such issues by complying with the regulations and policy, that Qatar provides to ensure data security, privacy, and protection. 

He underscored that Generative AI (Gen AI) is mainly driven by the key builders including infrastructure. It also enables startup companies to use Gen AI due to its evolution of the tech.

The official said that this could result in developing certain aspects for all employees and citizens that are a part of the ecosystem. These would be primarily driven by data and infrastructure.

“Our ongoing process is to address every single entity in Qatar to make sure that they progress towards digital transformation. We continue to invest in the country and have witnessed massive demand while acknowledging that have the right tools to reorganise and help companies to rapidly transform digitally,” Al Thehaiban added.

Google Cloud recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of its launch in Doha, which is the first-ever in the Middle East and Africa region. The cloud computing platform currently has a global network of 37 regions and 112 zones offering services in over 200 countries, including Qatar. They are well-versed and positioned with robust infrastructures and resources, which drive the Qatari economy and help to transform it into a digital technology hub.