Qatar Chamber Hosts Delegation from US Business Executives for National Security

Doha, February 11 (QNA) - Qatar Chamber hosted on Sunday a meeting for a visiting delegation from the Business Executives for National Security (BENS) of the United States of America, led by BENS President and CEO Norton Schwartz. The visit aimed at exploring business and investment climate in Qatar. During the meeting, Qatar Chamber made a presentation on investment climate, facilities and privileges enjoyed by foreign investors in Qatar, in addition to the role played by different bodies in the country to address the siege imposed on the country since June 5, 2017. HE the Chairman of Qatar Chamber Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Thani said that the State of Qatar successfully managed to overcome the effects of the siege at the lowest cost and in record time, noting that the siege imposed on the country encouraged the private sector to open numerous factories and companies that have already started production and contributed to the achievement of high rates of self-sufficiency in a range of goods and products, and to launch many initiatives to facilitate business has received considerable support from the government. The Chairman of the Qatar Chamber pointed out that one of the most important initiatives was 'own your factory within 72 hours' plan which allowed more than 8000 businessmen to apply for licenses to establish new plants through the one-window program. He praised Qatar Central Bank's pioneering role in providing US currency and preventing any imbalance in the country's monetary system, which contributed to the preservation of the national currency without restrictions on remittance or on investments of foreign investors in the country. He pointed out that the siege period witnessed the official opening of Hamad Port, in addition to the inauguration of new shipping lines with a number of countries such as Turkey, Iran, India, Pakistan, Kuwait, Oman and others. This opened the way for the private sector to open up to other countries and expand trade with them, he added. For his part, Schwartz said that the Qatari economy enjoys the confidence of US investors, and that the United States is hosting promising Qatari investments, especially in light of the distinguished relations between the two countries and the cooperation agreements signed recently by the two sides. Business Executives for National Security (BENS) is an American nonprofit organization. It has about 450 public figures from business and industry leaders and retired officers in the US, and aims to address the most pressing challenges in security issues there. (QNA)