Smart City Expo Doha strengthens Qatar’s role in global urban innovation

Doha, Qatar: As Smart City Expo Doha wrapped up its fourth edition this week, Ricard Zapatero, CEO of Fira Barcelona International, the global organis...

Doha, Qatar: As Smart City Expo Doha wrapped up its fourth edition this week, Ricard Zapatero, CEO of Fira Barcelona International, the global organiser behind the event, praised Qatar’s growing role in advancing urban innovation and connecting the world’s leading smart city ecosystems.

Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the conference, Zapatero highlighted the significance of hosting this year’s programme alongside Mobile World Congress, creating unprecedented synergy between two major technology platforms. “We are so happy to have this fourth-time edition here in Qatar, in Doha this year,” he said. “We are celebrating our programme, which is having a fantastic big expo. Many of the exhibitors that we had in preceding editions have transferred to the big conference, and we have concentrated our efforts on putting together a fantastic conference programme about smart cities.”

This year’s agenda featured 50 sessions with global experts, including keynotes from Assistant Undersecretary for Digital Industry Affairs at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), H E Reem Al Mansoori.

Zapatero said, “We are focusing on sharing what’s new about the planning of cities and how new technologies are helping citizens to have better lives in the cities to showcase how new technologies are helping cities to build better lives for their citizens.”

While Qatar is home to pioneering developments like Lusail and Msheireb, Zapatero noted the expo’s mission is not to spotlight individual cities but to explore the broader themes shaping urban transformation.