The significant increase in the number of local and foreign meetings hosted by Qatar Chamber in 2018 reflects international interest on Qatar as a major investment destination, a top Chamber official has said.
To further enhance Qatari businesses' trade and economic ties with their international counterparts, Qatar Chamber hosted in 2018 as many as 95 foreign delegations compared to the 50 it received in 2017.
“These meetings reflected a great international interest in the investment climate in Qatar and high confidence in the Qatari economy,” Qatar Chamber director general Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi said in the January 2019 edition of Al Moltaqa, the Chamber’s monthly magazine.
According to al-Sharqi, the Chamber also organised last year “170 economic and commercial activities,” and hosted 21 meetings with a number of heads of state, ministers, officials and representatives of other chambers of commerce, and foreign institutions.
“During the past year, the Chamber has successfully organised and hosted a number of activities and events with a view to further promoting the Qatari private sector and enhancing its contribution in the sustainable development in line with principals of Qatar’s National Vision 2030.
“In 2018, the Chamber hosted a significant number of events, seminars, conferences, workshops, and exhibitions to discuss issues and matters of interest to the business community,” al-Sharqi said.
Qatar Chamber board members, on their part, met with four presidents; seven prime ministers and ministers; and several officials, organisational representatives, and chambers from the Gulf, Arab, and other foreign countries to discuss mutual co-operation and introduce them to the private sector.
Seven trade visits for Qatari businessmen to a number of countries abroad and in various international exhibitions were also organised last year, including a business visit for 55 Qatari businessmen to Kuwait led by Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani.
The Chamber also participated in several international events, including the Qatar-Belgium Business Forum, Qatar-Bulgaria Business Forum, and Qatar-US Economic Forum, which was held on the sidelines of Qatar’s economic roadshow in the US.
Qatar Chamber held 26 conferences, symposiums and forums, the most prominent of which were the Qatari-Turkish Forum, the Social Responsibility 2018 and Beyond, the Effects of Applying VAT on Businesses in Qatar, the Qatar-Pakistan Business and Investment Opportunities Conference, and the Third International Arbitration Conference.
Nine agreements and memoranda of understanding were also signed last year between Qatar Chamber and several institutions and chambers of commerce, including an agreement with the International Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber also organised 12 training courses last year, and capped 2018 with the successful staging of the ‘Made in Qatar’ exhibition in the Sultanate of Oman.
