The Gulf
crisis served as a litmus test for Qatar-based companies, Doha-resident
Sajjad Ahmed Khan told Qatar Urdu Radio’s live show Haqeeqat yesterday.
“It was a survival of the fittest.”
“The companies that survived
despite the blockade were the ones based in Qatar and had established
links over a long period of time, while companies with short-term goals
such as those that came to Doha after the 2008 financial crisis from
Dubai could not survive,” Khan asserted.
A senior manager of sales
& marketing at Gulf Incon, Khan said that prior to the siege, nearly
85% of imports to Qatar came from Jebel Ali port in UAE, while many
food items were coming from Saudi Arabia.
But in a single most
defining moment all sea, land and air routes were shut down and with it
Jebel Ali was closed for business as well.
“There was panic in the
initial stages, risks were to be analysed, and the first challenge was
to find a way to get our containers out of Jebel Ali,” Khan recalled.
“There was zero communication or information about the containers that
were stuck in the UAE so we had to take help from other channels, and
among them Oman played a great role.”
UAE was imposing hefty fines on the containers stuck at the Jebel Ali port.
Khan praised Qatar’s action plan to deal with the situation by setting up a committee during this period.
“The
committee analysed the extra hefty fines and helped businesses to bring
back their containers by assisting them in the payment of penalty
charges. As our representative, Qatar Chamber helped everyone each step
of the way.” He added that the opening of Doha port at an apt time and
new shipping routes normalised trading and logistics in the country.
Speaking
about international partners, Khan said the Gulf crisis had also
created insecurity among the US- and UK-based companies that have
businesses all over the GCC.
Haqeeqat is a joint venture of the Gulf
Times and Qatar Media Corp Urdu Radio. The show, hosted by
Saif-ur-Rehman, aims to engage and interact with the large South Asian
expatriate community in Qatar.
Log on to Qatar Urdu Radio on Facebook and ‘@QatarUrduRadio’ on Twitter for feedback and comments about the show.
Sajjad Ahmed Khan with Saif-ur-Rehman.