Al-Sulaiti: Celebrating National Day is expression of pride and glory

HEthe Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmedal-Sulaiti has said that the celebration of National Day is anexpression of pride and the eternal glory that the parents andforefathers made on this blessed land, in particular the Founder SheikhJassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, who charted for the State the path ofdevelopment, growth and prosperity, and carried the torch after him thewise leadership of this nation.Speaking on the occasion of NationalDay, the minister noted that thanks to its wise leadership, Qatar wasable to make great achievements that contributed to the security andwell-being of the citizens. “It established the foundations ofdevelopment and modernisation and a solid national economic base in theranks of the global economic powers,” the minister noted, stressing thatthe leadership of the country is moving forward in making moreachievements for this precious country in all fields.On the theme ofcelebrating National Day this year, ‘Promise of Prosperity and Glory’,the minister said that this slogan represents a factor of safety andconfidence in the strength, wisdom and steadfastness of the leadershipand its ability to overcome obstacles and difficulties. “It alsoreassures the citizens and residents in this country,” he said, addingthat the other dimension of this statement by His Highness the EmirSheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is to ensure maintaining growth anddevelopment, along with adherence to the sovereignty of the State,freedom of decision, unity of its people and leadership.On theunjust siege imposed on Qatar, the minister said that since the firstmoment of the declaration of the siege by the blockading countries,Qatar has realised that the crisis is fabricated and there is nojustification for it. “It therefore chose a firm approach to dealingwith developments based on a number of pillars, far from being draggedinto making ill-considered decisions in light of the crisis.”He saidthat Qatar has repeatedly declared its commitment to its willingness todiscuss any differences on the dialogue table in exchange for rejectingany attempt to impose dictates on it or to harm the independence of itsnational sovereignty. This has led to its response to the variousefforts put forward to resolve the crisis.”The minister noted allthe legal measures taken by Qatar to counter the arbitrariness of thesiege countries, particularly in the air and maritime transport sectorand the postal sector, which resulted in important decisions of therelevant international organisations forcing the siege countries tocomply with the relevant international conventions and resolutions.TheMinistry of Transport and Communications has made many achievements in2017. It has developed and improved services in the land and maritimetransport sectors, telecommunications and information technology, theimplementation and supervision of e-government programmes. The ministryhas also adopted Qatarisation strategy and has attracted qualifiedQatari cadres of both sexes to fill administrative and specialisedpositions in the transport and communications sectors in the country,the minister said.In the field of road transportation, the ministryhas continued to work on the draft railways law with the aim ofestablishing a world-class sustainable rail network with the higheststandards of quality and safety. The ministry is also working on theestablishment of an integrated system for the payment of publictransport tickets in Qatar as well as integrated database for the roadtransport sector and heavy transport, he added.In the field ofpreliminary design projects, designs are being prepared for a number ofroads in Doha. The designs are expected to be completed and transferredto the executive bodies before the end of 2017. The ministry hascompleted the study of the comprehensive plan for pedestrian crossingsin Qatar and will be launched in the first quarter of 2018. The ministryalso working on a study on the comprehensive plan for vehicle parking,in order to develop a strategy for the State in terms of vehicle parkingand associated systems and standards, in addition to the work ofstudying the modernisation of the comprehensive transport plan of Qatar,the minister said.In terms of improving public transport services,the ministry has been working hard to intensify effort for the existingbus network and routes to include improvements and new services for bustraffic, the minister noted.Karwa has made great strides inexpanding its bus services. The company has increased the requirementsof public bus services to 295 buses, an increase of about 25%, he added.QatarRailways Company (Rail) has made great efforts. In the Doha Metroproject, the overall completion rate of the project has reached about70% according to schedule. The Lusail light rail project is 66%. Withregard to maritime transport, Qatar Port Management Company has openedHamad Port in Um Al Hool area, several direct shipping lines have beeninaugurated between Hamad Port and a number of ports in the region andbeyond. Al Ruwais Port is also ready to receive various types ofcommercial goods, mainly construction materials. The Port Market will belaunched at Ruwais Port to sell a wide range of foreign products fromthe commercial shipping vessels directly before entering the localmarket.In the air transport field, the Civil Aviation Authority hasmany achievements. It has started to modernise the aviation safetytechnical regulations in co-operation with all aviation stakeholders inthe country. A number of modifications have been made to theairworthiness regulations to ensure a more efficient aircraftmaintenance system, he noted.As part of the commitment of theMinistry of Communications to create an integrated digital society, theministry has made a number of programmes and initiatives, such as QatarSmart Programme “Tasmu” at Qitcom 2017. In addition, the DigitalCommunity Development Sector has completed the development ofinformation security standards for the Qatar Smart Program, the datamanagement standards and the design criteria of Qatar Smart Platform,which ensures that the technology sector is competitive globally, aswell as the design of the detailed model of the Smart Qatar platform andthe completion of three projects, the minister said.(QNA)