The Qatar Financial Centre, one of the world's leading and fastest growing onshore business and financial centres, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft, during Qatar's Information and Communication Technology Exhibition and Conference (QITCOM).
The MoU was signed by Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, Chief Executive Officer, QFC and Lana Khalaf, Country Manager, Microsoft Qatar, in the presence of both of the companies' officials.
The MoU will facilitate strategic cooperation across business activities and knowledge-sharing in an aim to attract international digital and IT businesses and firms to Qatar. As part of the agreement, the two entities will jointly work on a host of initiatives aimed at supporting Qatar's smart country transformation and enhancing Qatar's digital competitiveness.
The QFC's agreement with Microsoft is strongly in line with our recently announced strategy that focuses on key sectors we believe are set for significant growth, and this includes digital. With Microsoft being one of the world's largest broad-based technology providers in the world, we are confident that this partnership will further enhance our efforts in attracting leading technology, digital and IT firms to Qatar.Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, Chief Executive Officer, QFC
Lana Khalaf, Country Manager, Microsoft Qatar said
"Microsoft is committed to strengthening our local partner ecosystem in Qatar. We are excited to join hands with QFC in order to bring our regional and global partners to operate locally and innovate, while contributing towards the economic competitiveness and sustained development of the country."
Sarah Al-Dorani, Chief Marketing Officer, QFC Authority said
"The QFC's partnership with Microsoft reflects our strong commitment to developing Qatar's technological innovation, sustainability and competitiveness on the world stage. Microsoft's world-leading reputation, network and expertise will enhance the QFC's business activities across the financial and digital sectors as we attract new firms to Qatar's digital industry."
The QFC participated in this year's edition of QITCOM as a key sponsor, hosting a dynamic B2B Networking Area for business leaders, government officials and international delegations to convene.
Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida also participated in a panel session entitled: 'Fostering Urban Innovation in Cities' with high-level executives including Abdelaziz Nasser Al-Khalifa, CEO, Qatar Development Bank and Faisal Al-Kuwari, Chief Technology Officer, Meeza. During the session, QFC's CEO discussed the QFC's vision to transform Doha into a leading global financial and commercial capital, in addition to the QFC's commitment to supporting urban innovation with the highly-anticipated move to Msheireb Downtown Doha.