Qatar seen as global hub for Italian construction, home building firms, says envoy

The participation of a large delegation of Italian firms in the 19th edition of Project Qatar underscores the significance of Doha as a global hub, Italian ambassador Paolo Toschi said Monday."In this year’s edition of Project Qatar, the Italian pavilion has around 13-14 companies participating in the event. We give a solid signal that the construction sector and the home building sector in Italy see Doha as an opportunity,” Toschi told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the event at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.The ambassador lauded the concerted efforts made by the Qatari government and other relevant authorities in fostering an environment conducive to growth, not just for Qatar but also on a global scale.Toschi said, "It’s an opportunity for a presence in the domestic market, but also for broader promotion abilities due to the nature of Doha as a global hub. So, I want to recognise the efforts that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as well as Qatari authorities, are making to create this opportunity as a growing one, not only for Qatar, but globally, and Italy will be there also in the future to be part of this.”According to Toschi, Italian companies are keen to explore new markets and are on the lookout for new customers and new opportunities."Italy is also a global leader, for instance, when it comes to wood and wood furnishing, and the same applies in many of the sectors of housing. I would say that for these companies to be able to access Doha as a global hub, thanks to its network of connections, whether in transport, information, culture and many others, to access Doha is an opportunity."We present it as such. It goes way beyond the size of the domestic market because from Doha you can access the world. And from Italy, you can access, I would say, some of the best quality in the world,” Toschi further stressed.On trade exchange with Qatar, the ambassador said both countries reached "a new record” in bilateral trade last year, which is valued at "around €8bn”."This represents a growth on the previous record of over 140% in 2021. So these are already post-pandemic figures. They represent a variety of sectors. But overall, I think they’re the signal of a very healthy, very positive trade relationship, and we want to see it continuing to grow,” Toschi pointed out.He added: "But the growth of our relationship, I would say, has met the challenges of the pandemic and of other challenges that we face, including, for instance, climate change, and our trade relationship reflects that as well."We are working more and more in exploring the opportunities in the renewable energy sector, as well as exploring opportunities in oil and gas, which remain the core of our relationship in the energy field with Qatar.”