Middle East's Largest Smart Cities Event begins in Doha on Monday

April 8, 2015, Doha, Qatar: The 4th Annual Arab Future Cities Summit Qatar 2015 will take place early next week in Doha, Qatar on April 13 and 14, 2015. Held at the Ritz-Carlton, Doha, the two-day summit will be attended by over 350 senior executives, government officials, developers, urban planners, investors, academics, and cutting-edge technologists from across the GCC to discuss the progress, efficient management of resources, future development and ways of making future cities work better in the Middle East. The summit is organized by global conference producers, Expotrade.

The summit will be inaugurated by Eng. Abdulla Abdulaziz T. Al Subaie, Managing Director, Qatar Rail.

The two-day by-invitation-only summit will feature presentations, panel discussions and networking sessions by renowned experts from across the world. With sustainable urban development as the core theme, the summit will feature topics ranging from smarter cities enabled through IoT, energy efficiency and government initiatives, to sustainable infrastructure, ICT innovation and telecommunications. Sessions focusing on Qatar and the special initiatives taken up by Qatari government bodies such as ICT Qatar and Qatar Rail are among the highlights of the event.

With its growing importance in the region and supported by its leadership and the goals of the National Vision 2030, Qatar is the ideal location to hold a summit that seeks to discuss the latest innovation and technology in smart city development worldwide.

Speakers and panelists at the summit include Eng. Hamad Ibrahim Al Bishri, Deputy CEO, Qatar Rail Company; Dr. Rainer Schnepfleitner, Department Manager Regulation and Competition Affairs, Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA); Ashraf Ali Ismael, National Information Assurance Manager, Cyber Security Division, (QCERT) ICT Qatar; Dr. Fethi Filali, Head of Technology Development & Applied Research, Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC); Cyril Anand, Assistant Director, Business Development Support, Ooredoo Qatar; Mohamed Sleiman, General Manager, Alfardan Properties; Prof. Ali A. Alraouf, Prof. of Architecture and Urbanism, Head of CB, Training, Research and Development–QNMP Doha, Qatar; Ahmad Kawakbi, ICT & Stakeholder Manager, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy - FIFA World Cup Qatar; Mohannad Khader, Vice President - Commercial, Qatar Cool; Safder Nazir, Regional Vice President Smart Cities & IoT, Huawei and many more.

The event is sponsored by industry giants such as Huawei, Accenture, Ooredoo, Cisco, Intel, Alfardan Properties, Schneider Electric, Microsoft, EMC, Qatar Cool, B+B SmartWorx, Proteco LLC (Al Nasr Holding), Esri and many more. Innovation is brought into focus at the Future Cities Lounge, which will see over 30 exhibitors showcasing innovative solutions for building smart cities.

Brad Hariharan, Regional Director, Expotrade Middle East, organizers of the conference, said, “The Arab Future Cities Summit seeks to promote sustainable urban development as its main focus. Qatar’s important position in the GCC and its National Vision 2030, coupled with Doha’s emergence as a major city only serve to underline the importance of such a platform which will showcase the latest solutions, technology and innovation in global smart city development. Also of special interest is the summit’s focus on Qatar’s initiatives and progress in this move towards sustainable development. We are very happy to present this platform for knowledge-sharing and networking to our speakers, delegates and sponsors.”