Overview

The Qatar National Tourism Council is responsible for the regulation, development, and promotion of tourism in Qatar. With its reach in the formulation of rules and regulations and laws relating to such, the council is responsible for all aspects of tourism, which include the maintenance of tourist attractions, the accommodations for travelers, as well as the expansion and diversification of Qatar’s tourism industry. It is the goal of the National Tourism Council to be able to bolster the role of tourism in Qatar’s GDP and bring about its future growth and social development.

Among the many things that the Council is responsible for, it carries out these core functions: strategic industry planning and policy development; the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan to promote investment opportunities in the tourism sector; destination marketing and promotion for both leisure and business events; the enhancement of visitor experience in collaboration with tourist-facing entities; and the management of regulatory affairs, including the swift and efficient execution of all tourism licenses and similar services. This makes it the all encompassing location for all aspects of tourism and tourism investment.

In nearly every aspect of cultural development, the National Tourism Council does its best to highlight the many exciting opportunities that are happening in Qatar. From art and culture to sports and adventure to the many new shopping centers, the Council helps with connecting tourists and businesses with only the best that the country has to offer. In the arts scene, Qatar has a large number of museums and galleries showcasing the country’s history along with contemporary art featuring Arab artists. With connections to many of the related entities such as the Qatar National Museum and more, it is working to bring about an enriched image of Qatar to the rest of the world. 

Overview

Visa’s journey began in 1958, the year that Bank of America launched the first consumer credit card program for middle-class consumers and small to medium-sized merchants in the US. From there, it did not take long for the company to grow, expanding internationally in 1974, and introducing the debit card in 1975. In 2007, regional businesses around the world were merged to form Visa Inc., and in 2008, the company went public in one of the largest IPOs in history. In 2016, Visa completed the acquisition of Visa Europe. Today, Visa operates in more than 200 countries and territories with products and services available on any device such as cards, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. Visa continues to evolve, but its focus remains to provide safe and reliable service for everyone.

Visa is currently operational in many countries across the globe and has been of popular use in Qatar. The Qatar National Bank has partnered with Visa and now offers a special joint program called the QNB ALAHLI credit card that is accepted everywhere and allows its users to buy now and pay later. Special benefits of ALAHLI include: a grace period up to 57 days on purchase transactions; ease of shopping with the contactless service; EMV chip-enabled to provide the maximum level of security needed; 24/7 Call Center support at your service; more points with their loyalty program; exclusive discounts and offers at a wide range of merchants; SMS notification service after each purchase transaction; and much more. 

Overview

Originally founded in 1975 by childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft started as a company that makes computer software. Originally based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Microsoft relocated to Washington State in 1979 and eventually grew into a major multinational technology corporation. In 1987, the year after Microsoft went public, 31-year-old Gates became the world’s youngest billionaire. It is now one of the largest computer software and hardware companies in the world and is on the constant cutting edge of technological innovation.

Microsoft now has offices in Qatar and recently embarked on a major project building a new cloud datacenter region in the country. It currently works to deliver its intelligent, trusted cloud services and expand the Microsoft global cloud infrastructure to 55 cloud regions in 20 countries. The new region began with Microsoft Azure in 2021, and Office 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform are to follow.

The new cloud region is anticipated to play a pivotal role in bridging the skills gap in Qatar. Microsoft is also collaborating with the Qatar Digital Government to launch a nationwide upskilling program that will train government employees enhancing their technical acumen in cloud technologies.

The new cloud region will adhere to Microsoft’s trusted cloud principles and become part of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world already serving more than a billion customers and 20 million businesses. Microsoft’s cloud services are compliant with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and are certified for a large portfolio of international security and privacy standards, some of which form the basis of Qatar government policies, including the Ministry of Transport and Communications’ National Information Assurance Policy and the Cloud Security and Information Privacy Protection regulations.

Overview

Palantir was founded in 2004 with a mission to help organizations make better use of data while preserving privacy and civil liberties. They build platforms for data-driven operations and decision-making. They currently offer three main products, Palantir Gotham, Palantir Foundry, and Palanatir Apollo, which are then specialized to the needs of their client. Today, more than 2500 Palantir employees work in offices around the globe, including in Doha, London, Sydney, Tokyo, New York, Washington D.C., and Palo Alto. 

Palantir has a diverse range of clients. Their platforms power critical operations for defense and civilian government agencies worldwide and commercial companies in dozens of industries from finance to manufacturing to energy. They also partner closely with select nonprofits to amplify their work improving human lives. With all their clients, their goal is to develop long-term partnerships, working together to help them realize the value in their data and transform how they operate.

In 2020, Palantir Technologies signed an agreement with The Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar). This agreement is aimed to accelerate Qatar’s big-data transformation by utilizing Palantir’s data-driven decision-making platforms and best practices. The Qatar National Vision 2030, as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, create unique infrastructure and logistical challenges that will be addressed by Palantir.

Palantir was founded on the conviction that it’s essential to preserve fundamental principles of privacy and civil liberties while using data. To ensure that their technology follows this original vision, they adhere to a set of principles that guide their technical and business decisions. They invest in building technology that promotes responsible data usage while empowering their employees. They also engage with independent experts in privacy law, policy, and ethics.

Palantir Technologies Inc

Overview

MetLife is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. They currently serve approximately 100 million customers. Their growth has largely been recognized as the product of organic growth, acquisitions, joint ventures and other partnerships. They are continuing to strengthen their global brand by extending core products and competencies to markets around the world – an important driver of growth for the enterprise.

MetLife has been operating in the State of Qatar since 1962, offering a range of individual and group insurance products through agents, brokers, banks and direct channels. MetLife is one of Qatar National Bank’s (QNB’s) closest insurance partners. In 2015 and 2016, MetLife was the winner of the Life Insurance Company of the Year Award at the Middle East Insurance Industry Awards (MIIA), organized by Middle East Insurance Review.

Within the organization, MetLife is continuing to push for representation of women, veterans, and those with diverse abilities. Their Global Women’s Initiative seeks to increase representation of women in leadership roles by—identifying and attracting women to MetLife globally, offering career development and skill building for women, ensuring that all women thrive at MetLife. They have created programs such as the Developing Women’s Career Experience, a nomination-based 14-month program to help prepare emerging women leaders for more complex leadership roles and broader experiences.

MetLife is part of the US-Qatar Business Council’s Board of Directors.

• View MetLife’s Corporate Affiliates on their website

Overview

Sidra Medical is a health and research institution with the mission of raising the standard of healthcare throughout the country and also providing valuable research and learning opportunities. Their strong partnerships with other leading institutions allow them to advance scientific discovery through investment in medical research. Sidra Medical has worked with Weill-Cornell Medicine in Qatar (WCM-Q) and Qatar University (QU) as well as other health and research institutions like Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), and Qatar Biobank. The organization, which is based in Education City, is an entity of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF).

Compared to other healthcare organizations, Sidra is set apart by their specialty care for women, children, and young people. They are primarily a tertiary care center, which means they focus on specialized, highly-complex treatments and procedures. Keeping in line with their mission, innovation is a core value of Sidra Medical. They are the only health care organization in the world with an in-house software development team (CMIST). Through CMIST, they were able to build a crowd-sourced innovation platform called Imagine. Imagine brings staff ideas to life that have the ability to revolutionize Sidra’s operations.

Sidra, which was founded in 2018, is part of the growing healthcare movement in Qatar. The country’s per capita health spending is among the highest in the Middle East. This has ensured that the population remains one of the healthiest in the region and has also led to the creation of more tertiary care hospitals.

Related Organizations:

• Qatar Foundation

Overview

Established in 1944 and headquartered in Centreville, Virginia, Parsons is a digitally enabled solutions provider. They are largely focused on the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets. Parsons delivers cyber/converged security, technology-based intellectual property, and other innovative services to federal, regional, and local government agencies, as well as to private industrial customers worldwide. They operate in 30 countries and have 16,000 solutions providers working in diverse markets.

One of the largest projects that Parsons has worked on is in Qatar.  The government of Qatar—through its Public Works Authority (PWA)—planned to create uninterrupted, high-speed expressway corridors throughout and around the capital city of Doha referred to as the Doha Expressway. Parsons worked to create a safe, efficient, and modern expressway that saves motorists travel time and, in turn, reduces air pollution in the growing capital city. Their work was recognized through International Road Federation’s prestigious 2004 Global Road Achievement Award in the design category.

Parsons believes that a key part of their success is striking the balance between big ideas and the technical ability to bring them to life. They hope to continue expanding the reach of their operations to enable a sustainable, safer, smarter, and more connected world. Their logo has immortalized their quest to constantly do better, and showcases some of their current progress towards that quest.

In an effort to make sure that they are at the forefront of the industry, Parsons works to partner itself with companies that will add to its portfolio. Parsons’s partners will get access to their full portfolio of products as well as support for technology development, integration, marketing and sales.

Subsidiaries & Parsons business units:

Subsidiaries:

• QRC Technologies

Parsons business units:

• Connected Communities
• Cyber And Intelligence
• Engineering Systems
• Missile Defense and C5ISR
• Mobility Solutions
• Space And Geospatial

Overview

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Fluor Corporation is one of the world’s leading publicly owned engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and project management firms. Fluor employs a workforce of 44,000 men and women worldwide and boasts offices in more than 30 countries, on six continents. Fluor’s Core Values of safety, integrity, teamwork, and excellence act as the company’s behavioral compass and help them to advance their objectives and perform better. These values align perfectly with their vision— “To be the preferred choice in the industry through their commitment to safety, cost-competitive innovation and executing excellence.”

Fluor is widely recognized for its industry leadership, project excellence and health, safety & environmental excellence. In 2019, they were named number one on Engineering News-Record’s list of Top Contractors. They also have consistently been named to the Forbes 100 list. In relation to their company values, Fluor has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a World’s Most Ethical Company for more than ten years.

Fluor first entered the Qatari market with a completed project in 2009. They provided engineering, procurement and construction management, as well as commissioning and start-up support, for the RasGas RL(3) Common Offplot Projects in Qatar. The $1.5 billion series of fast-track projects provided common product rundown, storage and loading facilities for a large number of on-plot facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, including world-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains, gas sales and gas-to-liquid plants. The project achieved world class safety performance with over 46 million work hours without a lost time incident.

Overview

CDM Smith is a privately owned engineering and construction firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It aims to provide client service and innovative solutions in water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities. Their primary areas of expertise are consulting, design, construction, and program management. CDM uses these skills to find solutions for clients ranging from organizations involved in the industry or federal and municipal government groups to development-funded assignments.

CDM Smith’s objective is for their 5,000 employees to have an unwavering focus on creating innovative and lasting solutions that improve environmental value, quality of life, and economic prosperity. With more than US$1.2 billion in annual revenues, they have the size, stability, and resources to successfully undertake a diverse range of projects, applying local knowledge through a network of 125 offices worldwide while leveraging the full resources and expertise of their global staff.

CDM Smith was officially registered in Qatar in 2012 and has since carried out major projects that span the full range of transportation and infrastructure improvements. Their services include project management, planning, design, and construction supervision of roads, highways, water and wastewater facilities, and water resources.

One of the largest projects that CDM Smith has worked on is the Lusail Expressway. Located in Doha, Qatar, the expressway is among the largest public works programs in the Middle East. Completed in 2018, the expressway connects Qatar’s development zone and its existing population centers and infrastructure, enabling broader transit, commerce possibilities, and enhanced public safety.

Overview

McDermott International is an American multinational company founded in 1923. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, it is a fully-integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions for the energy industry. They deliver production facilities, pipelines and subsea systems from concept to commissioning. Their projects include complex offshore and subsea oil and gas projects. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott’s resources include approximately 40,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world.

McDermott provides its customers with a variety of services that include upstream oil and gas, liquefied natural gas, refining and petrochemicals, licensing technology, Sustainable Solutions, industrial storage, and power. They are the leading provider of fully integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) services for offshore field developments worldwide. They are also one of the only contractors that can perform the entire scope of work for an LNG project.

McDermott’s expertise in LNG has led them to have a strong partnership with Qatar. In 2021, McDermott was awarded a contract from Qatargas to deliver front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for Qatar Petroleum’s Northfield South (NFS) project.