Qatar joins the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network

The World Economic Forum has signed a collaboration agreement with the State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Finance, to establish a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in Qatar.

C4IR Qatar, to be inaugurated in June 2024, will be an autonomous non-profit organization, leading on policy and governance for emerging technologies. The primary focus will be sustainable development and economic competitiveness, in line with Qatar’s national priorities and Vision 2030.

“At a time of global fragmentation, innovation and technology promise to propel our shared priorities of sustainable development, cooperation and resilience, which has long been a key priority for Qatar’s leadership,” said Børge Brende, President, World Economic Forum. “The new centre in Doha joins a growing network and platform, serving as a focal point for advancing innovation and unlocking growth opportunities in the region and beyond."

C4IR Qatar will be formed and hosted by the Ministry of Finance, which will collaborate with other national stakeholders from the private and public sectors.

‘’Building on Qatar’s longstanding partnership with the World Economic Forum and our commitment to sustainable development, we are delighted to be launching a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Qatar. Over the past decade, Qatar has cemented its position as a global financial and innovation hub and the centre will further solidify the state’s economic competitiveness by developing ground-breaking policy and frontier technology applications for the advancement of sustainable development locally, regionally and globally,” said Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Finance.

C4IR Qatar will be a platform through which Qatar will shape the development of local and national Fourth Industrial Revolution strategies in line with its national development strategy and contribute to the global trajectory of these technologies. The centre is the third in the Arab world and it will become a hub of expertise to co-design and pilot future-focused policy frameworks that enable the development and deployment of technology regionally and globally.

The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a platform for multistakeholder collaboration, bringing together public and private sectors to maximize technological benefits to society while minimizing the risks. 

The World Economic Forum launched the first C4IR in San Francisco in 2017, shortly followed by centres in Japan and India. The network now includes centres in Austin (Centre for Trustworthy Technology), Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Detroit (US Centre for Advanced Manufacturing), Germany (Global Government Technology Centre), Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Norway (HUB Ocean), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Telangana (India), Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates.