Minister of Finance H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari speaking during the National Development Forum on March 18.
Doha, Qatar: Minister of Finance H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari has said that the Ministry implemented several initiatives to boost the private sector.
“The percentage of local components in the ‘Tawteen’ programme during the first year of its adoption reached 17%, and the goal is to increase it by 10% annually,” said Al Kuwari.
He said that the Tawteen programme, initiated by QatarEnergy and benefiting the Ministry of Finance through its application to the government procurement plan, aims to give preference to the largest and strongest companies in terms of local content, even if they do not have a price advantage in tenders.
The Minister of Finance was speaking at the National Development Forum recently. The forum was held to provide opportunities for the private sector to become an effective partner in delivering the Third National Development Strategy (NDS3).
Al Kuwari said that a ministerial committee formed by the state Cabinet is working to develop the Tawteen programme to include all government-owned companies and companies owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, with preparations underway to implement mandatory localization for products abundant in Qatar.
He said that this will be achieved by imposing a trade-off between local products and goods and services abundant nationwide. The Minister noted the importance of the annual Government Procurement Forum in enhancing the private sector’s benefit from national tenders.
He said that the forum allowed them to develop the necessary plans to participate and contribute to tenders offered by all parties, while preparing themselves to deal with them, in addition to its clear role in adding greater transparency to government tenders, which will return endless benefits to the private sector.
Al Kuwari said that the value of procurements by the Ministry of Health, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), and Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation Kahramaa alone was estimated at QR70bn.
Regarding the export development axis, he said that many local companies are now able to explore and benefit from the opportunities offered by international markets.
The Minister said that this is something that is being supported by various parties, most notably the Qatar Development Bank, which recently launched several programmes contributing to the development of exports, including “Exports,” which aims to enable Qatari manufacturers to participate in foreign exhibitions and give them the ability to be present in many markets.
He said that the initative led to a significant increase in the value of non-oil exports from the private sector, reaching QR4bn in the past five years, with a compound annual growth rate estimated at 33%. He stressed the government’s continued support for national manufacturers, providing them with the most comfortable conditions that would allow them to expand domestically and abroad.
Lauding the Forum, the Minister said, “I am happy to be present today at the forum. I think it is a special meeting with the business sector and the private sector. I think it is very important for setting up communication.”
He thanked the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Planning Council for organising this forum. The Minister said that the private sector is very important for the economic development of the country.
