Es’hail 1 will help meet the needs of broadcasters, says minister

QNA/Kourou, French Guiana

Minister of Information and Communication Technology HE Dr Hessa Sultan al-Jaber has called the launch of Es’hail 1 satellite from Kourou, French Guiana “a great success.”

“All of this would have not been possible without the clear vision of our leadership: the Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the Father Emir HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. And today, we are all proud to witness the cornerstone of this vision coming true,” al-Jaber said in speech delivered on the occasion of the launch of Qatar’s first satellite.

“It has been a journey since we first started assessing the need for satellite services for Qatar and since we signed our strategic partnership with Eutelsat back in the first half of 2010. And in the end, today, the successful launch of Es’hail 1 cannot be more opportune considering the persistent needs for broadcast independence in our region,” al-Jaber added.

“And now, thanks to the outstanding strategic relationship between France and Qatar, Es’hail 1 is here to address this and other national needs, including infrastructure requirements, economic diversification, and long-term commercial viability,” she said.

“Es’hail 1 is the first step in our strategy to develop Qatar into a regional centre of excellence of a sustainable national satellite industry. We have already taken additional steps including the recent acquisition of more frequencies rights at the same leading broadcast neighbourhood to further our vision. And our next satellite, Es’hail 2, will be planned to meet the increasing national and regional requirements,” the minister explained.

“That satellite, along with Es’hail 1, will help meet Qatar’s National Vision 2030 that underscores the importance of economic diversification and technology-backed growth. It will also help meet the requirements for FIFA 2022 World Cup that will be held in Qatar in that year,” Dr al-Jaber said.

Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO, said: “Tonight’s launch is a milestone marking a three-year journey since Eutelsat sealed a strategic alliance with Es’hailSat, our Qatari partner, to pursue a ground-breaking joint satellite programme. We are now entering a new phase with the beginning of shared operations of a sophisticated and flexible communications satellite designed to deliver over 15 years of service to our two companies. Our thanks go to Arianespace, with whom Eutelsat has built a solid relationship over 30 years, for executing a flawless launch. We look forward to serving customers with the first-class resources this new satellite will provide and to further anchoring our commitment to markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.”