From left: Dr Abdul Mutalib, David Newkirk, Wajdi Matar, Kathleen Abernathy and Dr Soumitra Dutta. (Qassim Rahmatullah)

DOHA • By the end of next year, 100,000 people will be using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to access government document services such as traffic tickets and exit permits, predicted Wajdi Matar, Planning and Institutional Relations Manager of ictQATAR.

ictQATAR's Advisory Council concluded their third-quarter meeting yesterday. "The meeting was a platform for ictQATAR's management to engage in constructive discussions with renowned experts in ICT," said Matar.

He added: "The objective of this committee is to gain first-hand knowledge of the latest developments in the field of ICT, and to draw parallels from the best practices from other countries to keep us on top of things." During the two-day meeting, the group discussed how ICT will impact both citizens and businesses in Qatar. The short and long-term strategies to deal with issues related to e-business, e-health, e-education and e-government were also discussed.

During a press conference to introduce the committee members, the panel was asked how the e-services in Qatar compare to other GCC countries at this time. Dr Soumitra Dutta, Dean of Executive Education at INSEAD, said: "The United Arab Emirates is the leader in many areas but Qatar is close behind, according to our global benchmark studies. Certainly Qatar has all the potential."

The Advisory Council was established in February 2006 and is comprised of several international experts in the field of ICT. The members of the committee include Kathleen Abernathy, former Commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission, Dutta, David Newkirk, former board member for the London Business School's global advisory board and Dr Raj Reddy, former Director of the Robotics Institute, Carnegie-Mellon.

Addressing the media ,Newkirk said: "e-health has great promise in two areas. First, it improves the cost and quality of healthcare delivery, and secondly, it makes all the knowledge of the healthcare industry available at the point of care."

He also said that e-health puts more information in the hands of the citizen, which results in a "balance of power" between the healthcare provider and the patient.

Matar commented on the future plans for ictQatar saying: "We are a relatively young organization with high ambitions. We have many e-government projects that will build and enhance existing services."

The panel was asked if Qatar's infrastructure is ready to comply with these plans. Abernathy responded: "The good news is ictQatar has taken a very aggressive role in determining what sort of laws, regulations and structure is needed to implement this plan. One important aspect is the opening up of the market and also working with the government to find how the government can use ictQatar's goals to better serve the public."