Qatar’s economy continues to expand sustainably; Qatar Ambassador to Germany

Qatar’s Ambassador to Germany, Mohammed Jaham Al Kuwari has mentioned that the Qatari economy is continuing to grow sustainably, creating a wide variety of opportunities for local and foreign investors.

During his interview with the Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV) publication in its fourth issue for this year, the ambassador hailed the strong bilateral ties between the two countries, particularly in the economic field. He remarked Qatar as a major investor in several significant German companies and its aim to enhance its ties with Germany further.

Hon. Ambassador stated that Qatar has investments in Germany that were about $28.2 billion and that there are more than 300 German companies operating in the Qatari market in various sectors, noting that the measures taken by the State of Qatar to combat the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) have achieved great success. He announced that Qatar looks forward to welcoming fans of all nationalities to the World Cup 2022.

Elaborating on Qatar’s eagerness to develop, the Ambassador remarked that the State of Qatar continues to prosper, with the country looking to diversify its economic streams by investing in major companies like Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and Volkswagen. He added that recent years have seen Qatar become more independent, investing in new markets through economic partnerships. He was vocal about the fact that the State of Qatar is looking to enhance its economic ties with Germany, with a focus on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which represented 80% of German companies in 2018. His Excellency referred to the announcement of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of investing $11.27 billion to enhance economic cooperation between Qatar and Germany in different fields, including, health, education, and liquified natural gas (LNG).

The ambassadors emphasized the cooperation between Qatar and Germany in repatriating 70,000 German citizens through Qatar Airways. Qatar was also instrumental to provide medical equipment to many countries such as Italy, Iran, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Nepal.

He highlighted that the Qatari economy is witnessing a new phase that relies on infrastructure spending to respond to the fast population growth ahead of the World Cup 2022. He added that this achievement is a temporary one as part of a bigger vision.

The ambassador denoted that the Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) is developing world-class free zones in Qatar, ensuring the state’s position as a global industrial and logistical center. He emphasized that more than fifty companies and projects have associated with QFZA since its establishment, to establish operations in the free zones in Qatar, which represents a total investment of more than $412 million.

He also stressed that QFZA offers fantastic opportunities for companies, including high-quality infrastructure, skilled workforce, 100% foreign ownership, and access to investment opportunities with Qatari entities, unlike many free zone developers, as well as Qatar Financial Center’s (QFC) excellent platform for companies to do business in Qatar and abroad.

Al Kuwari added that the QFC offers a legal, regulatory, tax, and commercial environment that allows 100% foreign ownership, 100% reallocation of profits, and a 10% competitive fee imposed on the profits of local companies.

He said that QFC welcomes a wide range of financial services companies and non-financial companies. He noted that QFC achieved growth of 30%, adding nearly 200 companies in a single year, bringing the total number to 816. He added that QFC is moving confidently towards its goal of registering 1,000 companies by 2022.