Ambassador of Qatar to France, H E Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, QC Chairman, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani and the Director of the Office of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Aurelien Le Chevalier during the meeting.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar Chamber (QC) recently participated in the ‘Fifth France-Arab Countries Economic Summit,’ held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of France, H E Emmanuel Macron, with the theme ‘Increasing France’s Place in the Arab World’ in Paris.
The event was jointly organized by the Arab-French Chamber of Commerce, the Union of Arab Chambers, and the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME), with support from ICE-FRANCE, the International Chamber of Commerce-France, International Medef, and Business France. The Chamber’s delegation was led by Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani and included board member Dr Khaled bin Klefeekh Al Hajri.
The summit was attended by more than 400 high-level economic figures and featured three round tables held on a geographical basis as general working sessions: the first focused on the Maghreb countries, the second on the Arab Levant countries, and the third on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
On the sidelines of the summit, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim met with Aurelien Le Chevalier, Director of the Office of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in the attendance of H E Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to France.
During the meeting, both sides discussed economic and commercial relations between the two countries and explored ways to enhance cooperation between the Qatari private sector and its French counterpart. They also emphasized the importance of fostering mutual investments and partnerships between the business sectors of both nations.
Speaking during the third working session, Dr Khaled Al-Hajri highlighted Qatar’s successful hosting of the 2022 World Cup and its management of the post-World Cup phase. He noted that Qatar recently launched the Third National Development Strategy (2024-2030), which aims to build a diversified, knowledge-based economy. He also pointed to the launch of the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Strategy (2024-2030) as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
He stated that the innovation strategy aims to position Qatar as a global leader in innovation and scientific research in the Middle East region, enhance the business sector’s involvement in innovative activities, develop qualified domestic talent, and increase the sector’s contribution to the state’s GDP. Regarding investments, he stated that the country aims to attract $100bn in direct investments across sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, education, financial services, food, agriculture, and healthcare. He added that the national economy is expected to grow by 4% annually until 2030, driven by the expansion of gas production.
