High-Level Digital & AI Policy Leaders Forum – Networks, Connectivity and the Policy Levers That Drive Growth

Digital policy in the region is moving from planning to implementation.
Syntys Chief Commercial Officer Sandeep Maru joined the panel on networks, connectivity and the policy levers that drive growth at the High-Level Digital & AI Policy Leaders Forum in Doha, convened by UNDP, Ooredoo Group and partners in partnership with the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, and moderated by GSMA. The session brought together ministries, regulators, operators and development partners from across the Arab region.

Sandeep set out three operational imperatives for scaling AI and digital infrastructure.
Certainty attracts capital. Predictable regulation, visible power availability and timelines that hold are what move a project from demand to deployment.
Coordination accelerates deployment. Power, land, permits and licensing moving through one coherent pathway does more for delivery speed than any single regulation.
Capability supports sovereignty. Clear data governance, alongside domestic cloud and AI capability, is what makes a market credible to international digital infrastructure investors.

The proposed regional facility to support governments through implementation is an important next step, and precisely where operators and investors can be most useful.

“Predictable regulation, visible power availability and timelines that hold are what move a project from demand to deployment.”