File picture for Al Bayt Stadium used for representation.
DOHA: The ongoing projects, especially the ones related to World Cup 2022 attracting foreign investors to Qatar and a number of companies from across the world are taking part in these projects except the siege countries which have barred their investors to participate in them.
“The value of a number of these ongoing infrastructure development projects reaches to QR200bn,” Dr Khalid Rashid Al Khater, specialist in monetary policy and political economy has said, adding that Qatar’s economy is very strong and the siege countries had failed to hurt it.
“Qatar opened new supply lines with international ports and that it is why it succeeded quickly to replace the imports from siege countries with alternatives from new countries.”
Al Khater, who was speaking to Qatar TV, said that the siege countries had failed as they did not achieve the political goals which they represented through a list of demands they had provided.
“Today, Qatar has adopted policies to support local products to achieve self-sufficiency especially in dairy products,” Al Khater said.
He observed that many foreign investors were looking towards GCC countries as a “safe oasis” and now this perception was under threat because of siege countries reckless practices through which they had intermingled politics with business.
Along promoting self-sufficiency in food sector, Qatar has also adopted policies to support tourism, and the maritime tourism sector after finishing of some of ongoing projects will attract 500,000 tourists by 2026.
Saif Al Kuwari, Director of Public Relations and Communication at Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) said earlier that many tourism projects are new and investors who were earlier afraid of investing in tourism sector had now become more confident for their investments. The QTA has carved Qatar into six geographical areas and every place will have special activity of tourism and will offer tourism products representing Qatar’s culture.
Regarding the Qatar-US Economic Forum, Al Khater said that it was held to make US-Qatari relations more stronger and to diversify the Qatari investment especially with important countries in the economic and political arena.
The size of US investment in Qatar is QR26 billion, and Qatar’s investment is US according to 2015 statistics has reached more than 45 billion dollar.
Currently, top Qatari officials are attending the forum, along with some 200 businesspersons participating in the Qatar-US Economic Forum. US is one of Qatar’s strongest trade partners. In the last 10 years (2007-2017) trade volume between two countries doubled from $3bn per year to $6bn.
