Doha: The National Planning Council (NPC), represented by the National Statistics Centre, organized the Doha Data Forum on Tuesday. Participating in the forum were representatives of government agencies, the private sector, and civil society organizations, alongside a number of experts and decision-makers, to discuss the role of national data in supporting the development planning process in the State of Qatar and to review key developments in the national data ecosystem.
According to Qatar News Agency, the forum served as a national platform to highlight the achievements of 2025 within the National Data Program, which saw the launch of several initiatives and national platforms, including the National Data and Statistics Strategy, the Qatar Data Trust Index, the QInsights Platform, and the revamped Qatar Open Data Platform. This was complemented by capacity-building programs, including the Qatar Datathon, the Data Summer Camp, and a series of other initiatives aimed at promoting a data-driven culture.
Addressing the forum, Director-General of the National Statistics Centre at NPC, Ahmed Hassan Al Obaidly, said the forum convenes at a profoundly critical time, marking an advanced executive phase Qatar has attained in implementing the Third National Development Strategy, placing high-quality data and statistics at the core of achieving its socioeconomic and development targets as key enablers of effective planning. The ambition for the upcoming phase goes beyond data collection to maximizing strategic value through improving data quality, broadening the use of administrative records, adopting advanced analytics, and leveraging artificial intelligence to enable more accurate policies, more flexible planning, and faster responses to change, Al Obaidly said.
The forum reviewed the directions of the National Data Program for 2026, which include several upcoming national initiatives, notably the National Data Compliance Platform to monitor progress toward national objectives, alongside the continued development of the Central Data Bank Project as a pivotal initiative providing high-quality data accessible to decision-makers. The forum highlighted the commitment to data transparency, reflected in its specialized sessions that showcased the achievements of the National Data Program in 2025 and outlined priorities for the next phase.
Discussions also addressed the state of data and artificial intelligence at both national and regional levels, emphasizing the role of trusted, high-quality data in enabling the responsible use of advanced technologies. The forum's panel discussions further focused on data governance, implementation challenges, and mechanisms to enhance coordination among government entities, ensuring the development of a more integrated and efficient national data ecosystem.
Concluding its deliberations, the forum underscored the importance of continuous collaboration among multiple state sectors, fostering a data culture, and accelerating the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, particularly AI and advanced data analytics. It noted that consolidating an integrated national data system is a core pillar supporting strategic planning as part of the sustainable development pathway in the State of Qatar.