Commerce and Industry Minister: Blockade Enhanced Qatar's Position as Region's Most Diversified Economy

Davos, January 23 (QNA) - HE Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari affirmed that the blockade imposed on the State of Qatar since 2017 has given it the opportunity to instill its leading position as one of the strongest, most diverse and competitive economies in the region. This came in His Excellency's speech during a discussion session that took place on Wednesday on multiple strategic visions: the future of policy-related investment, part of His Excellency's participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, which is being held between January 22 and 25. HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry said the meeting comes in light of uncertain global economic changes. The State of Qatar witnessed regional challenges through the unlawful blockade which was imposed on it since 2017, which aimed to undermine its position as an economically independent and sovereign State, His Excellency said. The State of Qatar worked on achieving sustainable development, before the imposed blockade, through adopting comprehensive policies that aim to increase the contribution of non-oil sectors in the GDP of the State. His Excellency added that the State of Qatar works on directing its revenues from oil and natural gas towards supporting other economic sectors in the State, in addition to transforming the commercial sector and national industries into active partners, to achieve national development strategy objectives. In line with these efforts, His Excellency said the State of Qatar sought to make its economy more open to the world and developed direct trade lines with a number of its major trading partners around the world, including Pakistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Turkey, India, Azerbaijan and Central Asia. Through the many agreements signed with these countries, the State of Qatar aims to promote its trade activity, targeting a market of nearly 400 million people for the first phase. It also aims to achieve this using its strategic location which links the east with the west, its developed infrastructure and high quality logistic services through Hamad Port and Hamad International Airport (HIA), His Excellency said. His Excellency said Hamad Port holds more than 27 percent of the trade volume in the Middle East region, due to its capacity which can hold more than 7.5 container annually, whereas HIA is one of the biggest in the region and contributes to more than 160 destinations around the world through Qatar Airways which was recently selected as the best airline in the world. His Excellency also said the policies adopted by the State have proven success, revealing that foreign trade has shown 16 percent growth in 2017 and Qatari exports rose by 18 percent, which in turn reflected on the country's total trade balance, which achieved a big surplus of 49 percent. His Excellency said that the appropriate business environment offered to the trade and industry sectors, contributed to promoting the international trade performance for the State. His Excellency referred to the Logistics Parks and Industrial zones, which allows foreign companies that wish to operate in Qatar to access as they are located in strategic location in the State, close to HIA and Hamad Port. His Excellency added that these zones support local and foreign investors through providing needed land that is equipped with comprehensive facilities to establish projects, in addition to benefiting from the storing and industry facilities. On the economic zones the State has provided to investors, His Excellency said they are in Ras Bufontas which covers an area of 3.96 square kilometers and is equipped to operate projects related to logistic services, aviation, information technology and light industries, as well as the environment and international trade services sectors. His Excellency said Um Alhoul is the second locations spread over an area of 30.3 square kilometers and is set next to Hamad Port and Mesaieed Industrial City, which is an area good for investors who wish to establish a number of vital sectors including marine industries and heavy industries, as well as various industrial sectors, emerging technology and logistics. His Excellency added that the State of Qatar worked on providing a number of logistic locations in Al Wakra, Birkat Al Awamer, Aba Saleel, Jery Al Samur, and other four warehousing locations which can assist companies to complete their logistic activities. His Excellency said that the developed infrastructure and logistic services in the State of Qatar contributed to promoting the productivity of the private sector and the competitiveness of local industries. It also paved the way for the development of a strong production foundation that has contributed to achieving balanced growth rates for the Qatari economy, His Excellency added. HE the Minister of Economy and Industry also reviewed indicators of the economic performance, noting that the GDP of the State of Qatar in 2017 will reach about 222 billion dollars, compared to 218 billion dollars in 2016, With an annual growth rate of 1.6 percent at constant prices. GDP grew by more than 5 percent in the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. His Excellency said that the World Bank sees the Qatari economy growing by 2.3 percent in 2018 and is expected to reach 2.7 percent in 2019 and then 3 percent in 2020. His Excellency noted that this growth is mainly due to the business environment, and the state's facilitation of doing business. His Excellency also discussed Qatar's rankings in the World Economic Forum's 2018 Global Competitiveness Report, where the country ranked first in the world in the inflation, where being first denotes having low inflation. The country also came in sixth place globally in the distortive effect of taxes and subsidies on competition, the eighth globally in venture capital availability, ninth globally in the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises, tenth in the world in terms of the growth of innovative companies, while being ranked first in the regional index of global entrepreneurship. His Excellency noted that based on these advanced classifications, the State of Qatar began accelerating the implementation of its economic strategies to attract foreign direct investment. The latter rose by 4 percent, or $7.8 billion, to $186 billion dollars at the end of the first quarter of 2018, compared to $178 billion at the end of 2017. HE the minister explained that this increase was driven by new legislation and amendments to a number of laws in the State of Qatar that provided more incentives for foreign investors and to allow ownership of up to 100 percent in all sectors, in addition to exemption from income tax and customs duties on the import of all goods necessary for the production process. His Excellency added that other incentives included the allocation of land for foreign investors for up to 50 years to establish their investment projects, in addition to the freedom to repatriate investment returns, and transfer of ownership of investment from one investor to another. HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry said that the State of Qatar has allowed foreign investors to own 100 percent in the free economic zones, along with tax exemptions that may be up to 20 years. The State has also worked to remove all barriers or restrictions on capital, pointing out that investors in these zones enjoy other incentives, including the possibility of exporting to local markets, benefiting from investment funds and establishing joint investment projects with local companies supported by the state. His Excellency pointed out that work is under way to issue a law regulating the partnership between the public and private sectors, which will pave the way for the launch of many major investment projects, especially in light of the state's tendency to enhance its expenses on infrastructure projects and logistics. In its annual budget for 2018, the state allocated $25.5 billion to spend on major projects, pointing out that these projects include ones related to the hosting of the World Cup 2022, as well as sustainable development projects implemented within the framework of Qatar National Vision 2030. His Excellency added that these projects will contribute to the promotion of the tourism sector, which aims to attract more than 5.6 million visitors annually by 2023, twice the number received by the State in 2016. In concluding remarks, the Minister of Commerce and Industry expressed his confidence that Qatar's advanced policies in business, trade and investment are the solution to the challenges facing the world today, stressing that the country is moving towards achieving its sustainable growth. The session saw participation from Senior Director and Managing Director of Boston Consulting Group Tawfik Hammoud, CEO of Qatar Investment Authority Mansour Ibrahim Al Mahmoud, HE Chile's Minister of Finance Felipe Larrain, Group Chairman of Standard Chartered Jose Vinals, and Executive Director of State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahmar Movsumov. HE the Minister, as part of the forum, participated in the Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL), which focused on employing new cooperation systems in the Middle-East and North Africa regions. (QNA)