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Ooredoo And Qatar Airways Partner To Build National AI Hub
The two Qatari giants have signed an MoU to establish a national hub for AI, cloud, and cybersecurity, driving digital transformation and talent development.
Ooredoo and Qatar Airways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a national hub for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. The agreement aims to accelerate Qatar’s digital transformation, positioning the country as a regional leader in advanced technology and innovation.
The announcement builds on a 15-year collaboration between the two organizations and represents a major step in Qatar’s long-term strategy for technological leadership and economic diversification. The initiative will deliver advanced infrastructure, digital tools, and data security frameworks that align with national goals for sustainable development.
A core element of the partnership is investment in people. Ooredoo and Qatar Airways will introduce specialized training and upskilling programs in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity, equipping the next generation of professionals with the skills needed to drive innovation across industries.
To support the effort, Ooredoo activated its investment in the NVIDIA GPU platform in July 2025, bringing high-performance computing power to Qatar. This infrastructure will enable businesses, government agencies, and developers to harness large-scale AI processing for advanced solutions.
Sheikh Ali Bin Jabor Al Thani, Chief Executive Officer of Ooredoo, stated: “We are committed to unleashing AI’s transformative power to enhance human potential and redefine what’s achievable. This strategic alliance with Qatar Airways merges our respective expertise to position Qatar as a global leader in AI advancement and digital innovation”.
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Qatar Airways Group CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer echoed this commitment: “Leveraging technology to drive innovation has always been central to Qatar Airways’ digital strategy. This partnership allows us to expand our role as a national AI champion and supports Qatar’s ambition to integrate AI across sectors. Together, we are setting new benchmarks for excellence across industries”.
By combining Ooredoo’s AI infrastructure with Qatar Airways’ operational experience in deploying advanced technologies, the partnership will lead to smarter, connected solutions in both telecommunications and aviation. More broadly, it reinforces Qatar’s ambition to create a knowledge-based economy and strengthen its influence as a regional hub for technology and digital innovation.
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Trip.com Is Betting An AI Agent Will Book Your Next Vacation
Abu Dhabi, Jazeera Airways and a run of hotel deals give the company more inventory. Its Mastercard demo says the most about where booking technology is headed.
Most of what Trip.com Group announced at Arabian Travel Market 2026 this week reads like the standard expansion playbook of an online travel agency: a new agreement with a tourism board, a run of hotel partnerships, an airline deal. However, one item was considerably more interesting: a demonstration built with Mastercard of an AI agent that doesn’t just suggest trips but also pays for them.
The showcase put TripGenie, the company’s AI travel assistant, to work searching, selecting and completing purchases inside a single booking flow, with Mastercard’s Agent Suite for Merchants handling the payment step and Network International processing the transactions on the merchant side. It’s limited for now to attractions and ancillary services, but the partners plan a phased commercial rollout from early 2027.
“As traveller expectations change, technology and AI will play an increasingly important role in how people plan their journeys,” says Schubert Lou, CEO of Trip.com.
Meanwhile, in more conventional news, CEO Lou and Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry (Director General for Tourism at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi), signed an agreement building on the two organizations’ existing partnership, with joint marketing and Abu Dhabi destination content to be pushed across Trip.com Group’s platforms.
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On accommodation, the group expanded its partnerships with JA Hotels & Resorts, Ishraq Hospitality and Aleph Hospitality and deepened its work with Silkhaus, which brings vacation homes into a portfolio that has so far leaned on hotels. Jazeera Airways signed a strategic partnership intended to widen the Kuwaiti carrier’s reach and encourage earlier bookings, tied to Kuwait’s own tourism ambitions.
The company moved into a larger Dubai office earlier this year and describes its long-term aim as a two-way ecosystem: sending Middle East travelers abroad while drawing international visitors in.
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