4th edition of "Moushtarayat 2019" Kicks off amid Expectations of Providing Investment Opportunities Worth QR 5.8 Billion

Doha, March 31 (QNA) - Under the patronage of HE Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the fourth edition of the Government Procurement and Contracting Conference and Exhibition Moushtarayat 2019 kicked off today, hosted in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, and in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) and the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), and sponsored by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment. Qatar Development Bank (QDB) expects Moushtarayat to provide more than 2,600 job opportunities this year with an investment value of about QR 5.8 billion. The 4th edition of Moushtarayat was inaugurated by HE Deputy Governor of Qatar Central Bank and Vice Chairman of QDB Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani, which is scheduled to take place for three days between March 31 and April 2 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. Commenting on the launch ceremony, the CEO of Qatar Development Bank Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, said: "We are pleased to launch the Moushtarayat 2019 will usher in a wave of new opportunities for the government-private sector cooperation. The exhibition is an important platform for SMEs to communicate with government agencies and to identify tenders and contracts, thus opening the horizons of cooperation with government agencies and winning their tenders." The CEO of Qatar Development Bank Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa added: "I would like to express our gratitude towards our partners Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MOCI), Public Works Authority (Ashghal), and Ministry of Municipality and Environment who have supported this endeavor since inception and making this a huge success. We assure the SMEs of Qatar that QDB will keep on bringing newer paradigms of growth to channelize their success and build a sustainable future and realizing the Qatar National Vision 2030." QDB CEO thanked all those who contributed to the success of the exhibition, stressing that it will achieve significant achievements for all parties involved. It will enable companies to identify existing opportunities and open new markets through their presence in the exhibition, adding that the efforts of Qatar Development Bank will contribute to enhancing the technical and financial position of small and medium-sized enterprises by supporting the process of localization of supply chains. This year's Moushtarayat has invited members of the private sector, particularly small and medium enterprises (SME), to attend and participate in a wide range of public tenders. The conference thrusts on educating the local SMEs about the procedures involved in existing public tenders extended by big buyers, such as larger private sector companies, semi-governmental and governmental bodies. This edition is slated to offer 2,600 business opportunities approximately rounding up to QR 5.8 billion and is expected to feature 10 workshops, with the participation of 40 exhibitors. Director of Intelligence and Localization Mohammed Al Mansouri said: "We are pleased to launch the Moushtarayat 2019 will usher in a wave of new opportunities for the government-private sector cooperation. The exhibition is an important platform for SMEs to communicate with government agencies and to identify tenders and contracts, thus opening the horizons of cooperation with government agencies and winning their tenders. I would like to express our gratitude towards our partners Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), Public Works Authority (Ashghal), and Ministry of Municipality and Environment who have supported this endeavor since inception and making this a huge success. We assure the SMEs of Qatar that QDB will keep on bringing newer paradigms of growth to channelize their success and build a sustainable future and realizing the Qatar National Vision 2030." This year's Moushtarayat conference and exhibition is the latest in a series of integrated programs and initiatives offered by QDB to develop SMEs. To promote the private sector, QDB locally extends wide-ranging financial and non-financial support to entrepreneurs across a myriad of industries so that SMEs may achieve higher scales of competitiveness in Qatar. For his part, the Director of Government Procurement Department of the Ministry of Finance Abdulaziz Zaid Al Talib said in a statement on the sidelines of the opening of the event that the conference is developing from one edition to another, and the number of companies bidding for state tenders is increasing year after year, and there is a strong demand now from different companies to participate in these tenders. He added that "MOUSHTARAYAT 2019" represent a portal that gives these companies the opportunity to enter and know the local tenders that serve 58 governmental bodies, and as Government Procurement Department we act as a link between local companies and government agencies and monitor 47 companies in the State Audit Bureau. Al Talib explained that there are approximately 4,000 companies registered from the total of 70 thousand companies registered with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Al Talib pointed out that during the past three years, there were about QR 71 billion tenders, including 68 or nearly 70 percent was awarded to local companies and there are also alliances between local companies and international partners, which reflects the size of opportunities offered by such an event, He pointed out that with the implementation of more projects, there are expectations of increasing the number of companies wishing to enter these tenders as subcontractors and as major companies to implement the remaining projects in the country. The first day of "MOUSHTARAYAT 2019" included three sessions of discussion, where the first session discussed the success and challenges of small and medium enterprises while the second session discussed capacity building for small and medium enterprises, and the closing session on the first day examined the procedures of public procurement to small and medium enterprises. (QNA)