UAE and Qatar sign deal on meteorological data sharing

Engineer Ali Abdulla Al Gifri, Head of Communications and Weather Stations at the Federal National Meteorological Centre of the UAE Ministry of Communications, said that the agreement entailed cooperation in aviation and broadcasting fields. It will help the two countries unify systems and laws of aviation and meteorology and facilitate cooperation in research into air crashes.

At a follow-up coordination meeting between the UAE and Qatar, it was decided that the cooperation would continue in fields of communication and meteorology, too, with the UAE office sending information to all marine plants in Qatar.

In the field of numerical weather forecasting, the coordination will involve shared transfer of files through the Internet to allow both sides to gain maximum benefit. Engineer Gifri said efforts were on to make a numerical model for the Gulf area, based on the Oman model, so that all three countries could share weather and communication data.

"This agreement should also see a regional weather forecast station set up either in the UAE or Qatar," he said. The two countries have also agreed to exchange expertise and research data in areas of meteorology and weather, conduct study on the weather in the Gulf region, and co-operate in providing training courses for national cadres.

Engineer Reyad A. Al Saddiqi, Head of Observation Section, of Qatar's Civil Aviation Authority, who is also part of a visiting delegation to study satellite and communication systems and climate data here, said Qatar would hopefully benefit from the deal.