UK team meets ministers, trade ties reviewed

HE Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani on Thursday met British Secretary of State for International Trade and president of the Board of Trade, Liam Fox, and his accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and discussed aspects of joint co-operation, especially in economic, trade and investment fields, and means of developing these.Qatar and the United Kingdom have signed a number of trade agreements.These include an agreement on economic, commercial and technical co-operation, signed on June 19, 1976, in Doha, an agreement on the promotion and protection of mutual investments, signed on October 27, 2009, in Doha, and a memorandum of understanding signed on October 28, 2010, between the two countries for co-operation in the fields of business, trade and technology in London.HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari discusses Qatar-UK co-operation with Fox.The volume of trade between Qatar and the United Kingdom in the first half of this year amounted to about QR5.6bn, and the number of British companies operating in the Qatari market stands at 79. These include firms in the field of oil and gas, infrastructure and information technology. There are 672 British-Qatari companies operating in Qatar.HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari also met with Fox on Thursday.During the meeting, they discussed aspects of co-operation between the two countries and ways to enhance and develop them, in addition to a number of issues of common concern.