Qatar’s ICT Minister HE Dr Hessa Sultan al-Jaber has reiterated the government’s commitment and determination to turn the country into a digitally advanced state from being a traditional economy reliant mainly on the hydro-carbon industry.
The minister said this while delivering her keynote address at a function organised by Kerala Engineers Forum in honour of globally acclaimed Indian technocrat Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, referred to as the ‘Founding Father’ of the South Asian country’s IT industry.
The 69-year-old Murthy, regarded as an Indian icon, was the founding chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys, one of the most successful global IT companies, headquartered in India’s Bengaluru. He was honoured by the Engineers Forum yesterday with its annual ‘Technocrat of the Year’ award at the function. The award was conferred by Dr al-Jaber.
Infosys employs more than 200,000 IT professionals across the world.
While speaking in honour of Narayana Murthy, the minister said she had all along been following his innovative and creative initiatives in the IT sector and was deeply influenced by his simplicity and down to earth approach.
SHOW_GADS
The minister also extended an invitation to Narayana Murthy to consider expanding his operations to Qatar, which she said is going all out to emerge as a major IT hub of the region.
Infosys, she said, is a key example of how much creativity and innovation could together contribute to transform a generation.
The minister said Qatar’s onward march to emerge as a dynamic and digitally-advanced economy is clear from the way it treats IT as an integral part of the educational curriculum at the elementary school level. “I sincerely wish and hope one day this country would also be able to create a Murthy here,” she said to the huge applause of the gathering.
Dr al-Jaber told the audience that the country is leaving no stone unturned to create a conducive atmosphere which would eventually pave the way for a flourishing ICT industry in Qatar.
Dr al-Jaber also called upon the engineering fraternity to support the country’s science and research activities so that both the present and future generations would be immensely benefited.
After receiving the award Murthy said as long as his health permitted he would continue to work hard and remain in the service of humanity. “It is a remarkable honour and privilege indeed to be recognised and honoured by fellow engineer professionals. No professional could have ever aspired for anything more than such a honour,” he said in a very short address, lasting a little over a minute.
Earlier, Indian ambassador to Qatar Sanjiv Arora also made an appeal to Murthy to consider making his company’s presence in a growing country like Qatar, which has developed some of the best educational, scientific and research facilities of the region, including the Qatar Foundation.
Arora reminded Murthy of the presence of a few other major Indian IT companies in the country and hoped his visit, which is his first, would culminate in some remarkably good plans for Infosys’ entry into Qatar.
The ambassador also recalled a meeting that he had with Murthy a few years ago in Houston where he came for a noble and humanitarian cause of raising proceeds to feed needy and deserving people.
While lauding Murthy, Arora said he is humbled by his simplicity, friendliness, humility and graciousness.
Kerala Engineers Forum chairman N V Raghavan introduced Murthy and made a brief presentation of his remarkable credentials.
Chitra Rajeev compered the event.
A minute’s silence was observed by the organisers in memory of the victims of yesterday’s massive earthquake in Nepal, which claimed several lives in India as well.
