USQBC ensures ‘pivotal role’ in achieving Qatar’s 2030 vision, says official

The US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC) has ensured its support to realise the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030, its president Scott Taylor told Gulf Times in the wake of the recently held 5th Qatar-US Strategic Dialogue.
“USQBC will play a pivotal role in helping Qatar achieve its vision because we’re always on the ground both in Doha and in Washington, DC, listening and proactively engaging our members and new members to create commerce,” Taylor emphasised.
Taylor explained that USQBC is engaging with different public and private sector agencies and entities, such as the US Chamber of Commerce, and working as a “very specific and bespoke organisation.”
“We understand what the opportunities are by listening and specifically meeting with ministers and heads of agencies to understand what their goals are. We then get back to our members to help them thrive and understand what the government is looking for, as well as reach out to new businesses and see how they can participate, as well,” he said.
Taylor also noted that USQBC is also fully supporting the initiative of the Embassy of the United States in Qatar in providing American small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to the Qatari market.
“Ambassador Timmy T Davis is very supportive of the Qatar National Vision 2030. He specifically speaks about supporting SMEs and having them come here and do commerce with Qatari businesses, as well as forge people-to-people relationships.
“Obviously, that’s where the USQBC could come in and play a significant role in connections, in corporate diplomacy, and in making sure businesses from Qatar and the US have the ability to operate in both countries, as well as supporting the US and Qatari embassies and the businesses on the ground,” Taylor said.
On USQBC’s participation in the strategic dialogue, Taylor said, “The US and Qatar are celebrating 50th year of diplomatic relations, and the relationship between these two countries will be a very pivotal one in the next century.
“The underpinning of our relationship is defence and national security, but it is also commerce, as well. And this is where corporate diplomats like the USQBC come in. The US is going to be very supportive of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and commerce, through our support, will help fulfil those goals.”
Taylor said USQBC is looking forward to participating in strategic dialogue-related workshops next year.
“We still don’t have the specifics of that workshop but USQBC will be partnering with the US embassy and entities and ministries here. I’m not sure what the framework exactly looks like but it’s something that we want to be intimately involved with,” he stressed, adding that sectors of interest would include sustainability, climate change, defence and national security, energy and energy security, healthcare, education, and tech.
He said, “We have a broad base of members, which we can also increase and bring to the table, and we’re constantly speaking to businesses in both the US and Qatar, including the ministries and understanding their vision alongside the Qatar National Vision 2030. When you look at these sectors, they’re so broad but we’re going to be bringing a lot of tools to the table to help them achieve Qatar National Vision 2030.”
Taylor also said USQBC was able to expand its membership base during his trip to Qatar in September this year.
“The goal of that trip was to listen to the ministries and people working on the ground and understand their goals inside the Qatar National Vision 2030, as well as the opportunities for USQBC and how we can extend support.
“The other part of the trip was to speak to potential members here who could join our council and not only add value to our membership but allow us to add value to them. This trip helped provide our new members quality leads to doing business,” Taylor added.