CITRA, Huawei MoU ‘will boost’ Kuwait’s digital economy

Kuwait: The Chairperson of Kuwait Communication and Information Technology Regulatory (CITRA) has affirmed the significance of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) CITRA has recently inked with Huawei. Omar Al-Omar, in a statement to KUNA on Saturday, said the MoU is crucial for boosting CITRA’s strategic initiatives, digital innovation, and skills, pushing forward the digital economy, and developing the infrastructure of future smart cities.

Al-Omar said the MoU he had signed with Steven Yi, President of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, recently in Barcelona, Spain, aims at enhancing mutual cooperation and contributing to the development of information and communications in Kuwait. Kuwait is currently “considered the top in the world with respect to phones’ operations.” Al-Omar said, noting the widespread usage of state-of-the-art technologies and the reasonable prices in the country.

Huawei provides “adequate solutions” to the operators and meets all their needs, he said, alluding in particular to the G5.5 technology that had been tested in Kuwait. “Soon, we will work out agreements to operate this technology as we had previously with respect to G5 and G4 technologies,” he revealed. On security concerns, he indicated that the National Cybersecurity Center was activated a few months ago, affirming CITRA’s support for efforts to protect clients’ data.

Moreover, he affirmed the necessity of laws and legislation to face such challenges. “Cybercriminals make use of loopholes in social media and communications to launch their attacks; thus, new strategies are needed to confront such crimes,” he added. Meanwhile, Yi expressed satisfaction with expanding cooperation with CITRA and elevating competition in the sector of information technology and communications in Kuwait, as well as boosting the national digital economy.

Enhancing the digital economy is necessary to create a dynamic and competitive market, Yi said, also noting the need for sponsoring the culture of innovation at this level. Furthermore, he underlined the need for developing the infrastructure of future smart towns as a pivotal issue for attaining the Neo Kuwait Vision 2035.