Press Release

QSTP Executive President Tidu Maini, Qtel CEO Nasser Marafih and MEF EMEA Chairman, Gerril Jan Konijnenberg, jointly declared open the office at the QSTP.

According to Marafih, there are 320 million Arabic-speaking people in the world, around 6 percent of the world population, but the online content in Arabic is just around 1 percent.Similarly, the broadband as well as smart phone penetration in the MENA region is low compared to other regions in the world. He said, "The mobile applications and content development are still in infancy in Qatar where 90 percent of the internet content and traffic is international with just 5 percent of it being local. By co-founding the establishment of the local MEF office, and our partnership with QSTP and QUWIC, we aim to support the creation of a sophisticated local mobile application and content ecosystem to accelerate growth of the mobile content industry in the MENA region."

"We are delighted that our plans to have presence in the MENA region through the MEF Middle East office in Qatar have come to fruition and are looking forward to working with our partners to accelerate growth in mobile media," commented Gerrit Jan Konijnenberg MEF EMEA Chairman. "The mobile entertainment sector is a $36bn global industry and the Middle East was identified as a key growth market in our most recent membership survey. By engaging stakeholders across the value chain, at both a local and international level, we aim to stimulate further innovation and growth and create competitive advantage for our members."

Dr. Tidu Maini, Science and Technology Advisor, Chairman Qatar Science & Technology Park said: "We would like to welcome the Qtel Group and Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) to QSTP, which is a further evidence of our active involvement into mobile innovation research in Qatar and the region. We are delighted to add another renowned organization to our portfolio of collaborations with leading international companies, mainly in the field of technology. The creation of new technology is at the heart of our vision, which is aligned to Qatar's 2030 vision."

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