Qatar's Minister of Economy and Commerce Meets U.S. Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce

Washington, January 31 (QNA) - HE Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Thani met Wednesday on the sidelines of his participation in the Qatari-U.S. dialogue in Washington with HE U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and HE U.S. Secretary of Commerce Willbur Ross in separate meetings along with a number of U.S. economy-related officials. The two meetings dealt with reviewing economic and investment ties and the means to advance them, in addition to discussing the outcomes of the session on enhancing commerce and investment in the Qatari-U.S. dialogue session. For his part, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce praised the performance of the Qatari economy and expressed his satisfaction of the American companies there. He also highlighted the performance of Qatari investments, which helped create jobs for American citizens. HE the Minister also met with Assistant United States Trade Representative Dan Mullaney on the sidelines of the strategic dialogue. They discussed the outcomes of the latest talks between the United States-Qatar Council on Trade and Investment (TIFA). They also discussed the latest Memorandums of Understanding and reviewed facets of cooperation in different sectors. HE the Minister invited the American side to hold the next meeting in Doha, which will take place before the end of the current year. HE the Minister met with President of the US-Qatar Business Council Ambassador Anne Patterson. They discussed bilateral relations between the private sectors of both countries in all sectors and the latest developments of the council. The American side presented the council's plan for the next five years. HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce chaired yesterday a session on enhancing investment and commerce that was organized by the strategic dialogue. Participating in the session on the American side were Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets, The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs, a representative of the U.S. for international relations, and the Office of Intellectual Property Enforcement. HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce discussed ways to increase trade volume between the two sides and lift challenges facing investments in the two countries. The two sides also discussed the incentives offered by the State of Qatar to attract foreign investments. His Excellency stressed on the strength of the historical ties between the State of Qatar and the U.S. and noted that the two sides signed a commerce and investment agreement in 2004 in order to expand cooperation. His Excellency also highlighted that the strategic dialogue was an important step to enhancing ties further. The State of Qatar and the U.S. have strong investment and commerce ties in the field of oil and gas. Trade volume for 2017 reached $6 billion. There are a total of 102 companies working in the State of Qatar that have 100 percent American ownership, compared to 505 other companies that are in partnership with a Qatari side. There are also 40 companies that are licensed and work under the umbrella of Qatar Financial Center (QFC). (QNA)