Qatar among strongest and most promising economies in the world: MoCI undersecretary

QNA Doha Qatar has managed to overcome “all the challenges” that faced global economies in the past years, and laid the foundations of a new phase in achie...

QNADohaQatar has managed to overcome “all the challenges” that faced global economies in the past years, and laid the foundations of a new phase in achieving economic diversification, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Sultan bin Rashid Al Khater has said.This has consolidated Qatar’s position as one of the most powerful and promising regional economies at the global level, he added.In an interview with the Qatar News Agency (QNA), Khater said the country, thanks to the economic policies that it has adopted over the past years, has presented an advanced economic model that has cemented its position as a major economic hub in the region, as it has managed to overcome various regional and global challenges, and laid the foundations of a new economic stage x through which it directed to rely on its own capabilities, support national products, and enhance its openness to its various trading partners around the world.He said that despite the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected all countries of the world without exception and led to a decline in the growth of major global economies, Qatar’s economy is one of the region’s strongest and among the most promising economies at the global level, thanks to the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who charted a course to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the national economy and shift towards a new knowledge-based economy.He explained that within the framework of this approach, Qatar moved towards adopting an approach that contributes to achieving a balance between the oil-based economy and the real economy that depends on the non-oil sectors, noting that this approach has resulted in directing the important resources of the oil and gas sector towards supporting programs aimed at achieving economic diversification.Khater referred to the role played by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in supporting national efforts aimed at promoting and expanding Qatari industries, in a way that contributes to achieving self-sufficiency of the State on the one hand, and supporting economic growth of the non-oil sectors, in line with the country’s economic diversification plans to achieve the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.He underlined that the ministry had taken on encouraging national industrial institutions to increase their productivity, in line with the determinants of the Second National Development Strategy 2018-2022 and the Qatar National Manufacturing Strategy, so it had launched the joint framework contracts initiative in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and Hamad Medical Corporation. In this regard, the initiative primarily covered the pharmaceutical and medical equipment sector, and its scope will be expanded to include other sectors, in coordination with the concerned authorities, he added.Khater noted that work has been done to raise the level of access to national goods and products to the largest number of sales outlets in the country. This is being achieved by directing allocating about 50% of the exhibits to Qatari products, in addition to meeting and coordinating with more than 30 governmental and semi-governmental agencies to motivate them to give priority to national products, and increase their purchases in this field, the undersecretary added.In this regard, he referred to the announcement of the launch of the 1,000 Opportunities Initiative, which comprised of an electronic platform within the Single Window Platform. It allows local investors to view the existing and future opportunities and projects that would meet their various needs in terms of products or services provided by local private sector companies, HE explained, pointing out that this initiative is expected to contribute to provide significant investment and economic opportunities that would benefit the industrial sector, which has seen remarkable development during the past years.In a related context, he referred to the initiative to offer investment opportunities in the country, in partnership between the public and private sectors, with the aim of consolidating economic diversification and supporting non-oil sectors, especially the tourism industry which plays an important role in strengthening Qatar’s leading position as one of the most prominent tourist destinations regionally and globally.Regarding facing the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected global economies, HE Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the ministry sought to support national efforts aimed at preserving the health and safety of citizens and residents, protect the economic structure of the State, support the affected sectors, reduce the risks of the pandemic, contain its repercussions on the business climate, and ensure market stability and availability of food and basic commodities, in line with the competencies entrusted to it, in addition to strengthening coordination with the concerned authorities to face the repercussions, and discuss mechanisms for implementing support packages and exemptions that have been decided for the affected sectors, as well as follow up the performance of national industries and other measures.Qatar has sought to accelerate the pace of launching initiatives, programs and laws that support the national economy and stimulate production and investment, HE said, noting in this regard the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s launch of several initiatives aimed at encouraging the private sector to actively contribute to the national economy by supporting the national product.The ministry, in cooperation with Qatar Development Bank (QDB), is organizing the National Product Week, which aims to celebrate the success of Qatari companies and their products in various sectors, enhance efforts to localize supply chains, and support self-sufficiency and economic diversification efforts in the State of Qatar, HE further said. The ministry is also organizing a campaign to support Qatari products through various means of communication and in sales outlets as well, he added.Khater also touched on all the initiatives and circulars issued by the Ministry in terms of regulating the practice of commercial activities in the country and ensuring compliance with the conditions, controls and precautionary measures that have been approved in this regard.On the most prominent projects implemented by the Ministry within the framework of the National Development Strategy 2018-2022, HE explained that this strategy identified programs and projects that would directly contribute to accelerating the pace of economic diversification in the country by encouraging the competitiveness of Qatari exports based on infrastructure and developed logistics services, activating regional and international networks with the aim of establishing more competitive and extended supply chains, signing international and regional trade agreements that support Qatars position in the main markets, motivating local investors and directing them to take advantage of the promising opportunities offered by a number of selected vital sectors.He also said that this strategy has set a legislative and regulatory framework that stimulates foreign investment, strengthens partnership between the public and private sectors, and develops patents and converts them into competitive commercial goods. It also affirmed the importance of continuing to implement programs aimed at encouraging the private sector and providing an ideal business environment, besides a number of other important programs and projects, he added.About the projects that will have priority in the Third National Development Strategy 2023-2027, HE pointed out that the ministry is working in this framework to coordinate with the various concerned authorities in the country to prepare its sectoral strategy based on the development goals that have been achieved, which is the result of an effective partnership between the public and private sectors and all concerned parties, in order to support the country’s march towards achieving its National Vision 2030.He stressed that the development strategies adopted by the State contributed to the formulation of economic policies aimed at achieving economic diversification, activating the contribution of the private sector at the economic level, and enhancing food security by achieving self-sufficiency in some agricultural and industrial food commodities, as well as developing the business environment, increasing the average level of productivity for some sectors, and expanding the use of technology and innovation in several areas, including small and medium industries and other productive activities. In response to a question by QNA regarding Qatar’s legislative, institutional and regulatory efforts to create an attractive investment environment, His Excellency the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the State was keen to issue a package of laws to stimulate foreign investments by relying on advanced legislations such as the law regulating on-Qatari capital investment in economic activity, the law regulating public-private partnerships (PPPs), and the law regulating non-Qatari ownership and use of properties.He added that Qatar allowed foreign capital to invest in many productive sectors, and allowed foreign investors to own up to 100% of the capital of companies, provided tax and customs exemptions, facilitated and simplified investment procedures through the single window, allowed foreign investors to own property in accordance with the regulations following the issuance of the Cabinet’s decision which specifies the areas in which non-Qataris may own and use real estate, and the conditions, controls, advantages and procedures for ownership and use, in line with the law regulating non-Qatari ownership and use of real estate. The areas that have been allocated for ownership and use are typical according to the latest international planning and urban specifications, he added.Khater also referred to a number of laws issued with the aim of enhancing the flow of capital and international competitiveness in establishing companies, removing obstacles, facilitating procedures for investors to attract investment projects and improve the country’s ranking within international investment-related reports, applying governance standards, especially transparency and disclosure, and promoting incentives for ownership or use, or that related to the residence permit for a non-Qatari investor, which can be obtained for a period of 5 years without a sponsor.In this regard, he explained that the law regulating the entry and exit of expatriates and their residence allows the competent authority at the Ministry of Interior to issue entry visas and grant residence permits without an employer to investors subject to the provisions of the law regulating investment of non-Qatari capital in economic activity, for a renewable period of 5 years. The same is true for property owners and beneficiaries in accordance with the provisions of the law regulating non-Qatari ownership and use of real estate, so that they can obtain residency for a period of five years, automatically renewed for the duration of their ownership or use of real estate, he noted.Khater said that these legislative and regulatory efforts have reinforced expectations for the growth of the Qatari economy, noting in this context to the International Monetary Fund’s expectations that the Qatari economy will witness a remarkable growth of about 3.2% in 2022, compared to about 2% in 2021, which reflects the growth of all economic sectors in the country, especially the investment sector.He also referred to a report issued by the US-Qatar Business Council in 2021, which said that foreign direct investment in the State of Qatar has taken an upward trend thanks to the business environment, advanced infrastructure, and the balanced performance of the financial sector, which directly affected the country’s GDP, that is expected to rise to 3.9% in 2022.He further said that expectations indicate that the country’s GDP will rise from $161 billion in 2021 to $201 billion in 2025, and it is expected to reach $172 billion in 2022, $181 billion in 2023 and $191 billion in 2024.Speaking about the contribution of the “Single Window” initiative to accelerate business and attract local and foreign investments, Khater stressed that this initiative came within the framework of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s keenness to complete its path towards digital transformation, translating wise leadership guidance to improve the business environment in Qatar by optimizing the use of digital technology to enhance the operational performance of the services provided and support the national economy.In this context, he added that the ministry has moved towards contributing to achieving the State’s objectives of comprehensive digital transformation, the abolition of paper transactions and the digitization of all government procedures.He said that the ministry has initiated and strengthened joint cooperation and coordination with relevant government agencies, with the aim of facilitating and shortening the procedures for granting approvals and licenses necessary to establish businesses and to provide access to these services through the smart electronic platform of the Single Window Initiative so that the integration of the various procedures are achieved in a way that prevents their recurrence; using a single procedure to accomplish multiple services, thereby reducing the stages of establishing companies and industrial establishments in the country.Khater explained that the Single Window initiative was directed towards assisting investors during the various stages of establishing companies, starting from the planning stages, passing through the registration procedures, to issuing the necessary licenses through an electronic interface that connects the investor to about 18 government agencies in one platform, at any time and from anywhere around the world.He said that the past years witnessed a remarkable development in the completion of the various stages of the single window project, to succeed in making many achievements during the third and fourth quarters of 2021.In this context, he stated that during the Single Window initiative, more than 38,000 digital contracts were signed by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for investors, more than 33,457 payment transactions were completed through the single window electronic payment gateway, and more than 3,937 registration numbers were issued through the Single Window initiative.He mentioned that the SAK e-Services Portal has about 77 knowledgeable entities, and about 8,516 complete digital approvals were issued, and the Single Window Initiative witnessed the submission of more than 131,428 transactions, in addition to the completion of about 80 digital link points with various supporting agencies and bodies.