Qatar Development Bank (QDB) recently organised a workshop to inform local exporters on procedures when participating in international public tenders as part of an initiative to open new markets for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The ‘Workshop on International Public Tenders’, organised in collaboration with InfoTrade 2000, France’s leading international tender specialists, provided local exporters with details about participating in bids and tenders that are regularly announced by various private and public organisations in the international marketplace.
The workshop also included information about international tendering opportunities currently available that are of interest to SMEs across different sectors.
During the workshop, individualised meetings were held between specialists from the international tender organisation and partaking Qatari exporters. The meetings were designed to provide an opportunity to Qatari companies to discuss strategies specific to their respective organisations for approaching international tenders.
QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa said: “Through this initiative, we aim to develop the nation’s export market and empower the local private sector, as envisioned in the Qatar National Vision 2030. It is especially through the development of local entrepreneurs, manufacturers and producers that Qatar will enjoy a diversification of its economy and enhance its capacity to compete in global market.
“By providing all possible facilities to Qatari SMEs to find platforms that allow for their participation in international bidding opportunities from around the world, we take yet another step closer towards promoting Qatari products in the international marketplace.” QDB executive director for Tasdeer Hassan Khalifa al-Mansoori said: “The organisation of this workshop is in line with our objectives to develop the domestic exports of non-oil and gas sector goods and services. At Tasdeer, we open access of local companies to the world’s emerging and established markets through the provision of export financing services, as well as through a range promotional and developmental services, such as international exhibitions, bilateral trade cooperation programmes and training workshops.”
InfoTrade 2000 announces approximately 20,000 international tenders a day from across the globe. In addition to the ‘Workshop on International Public Tenders’, QDB regularly hosts export training workshops and continuously offers research reports and other important information on new markets for SMEs on its website.
To participate in upcoming workshops and learn more about export opportunities, visit http://www.qdb.qa/English/Tasdeer/Development/Pages/WorkshopRegistration.aspx
In a related development, the International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint agency of the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, recently nominated QDB for the 2016 Trade Promotion Organisation Award, under the best development agency in a developing country category.
QDB was the sole development agency shortlisted from among the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Middle East and North Africa region. Other nominated development agencies, under the same category, come from Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, and South Korea.

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