The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) is organising the Qatar-US Economic Forum in Washington DC, in co-operation with Qatar Chamber, American Chamber of Commerce, Qatari Businessmen Association, Qatar-US Business Council and a number of official US entities Tuesday.
The forum coincides with the visit of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to the US.
It is organised by the MEC as part of the US economic facilitation tour that covers a number of US cities, aiming at enhancing and expanding commercial and economic relationships between Qatar and the US.
The tour included high-level meetings in a number of US cities that have witnessed a flow of Qatari investments such as Miami, Florida; Washington, DC; Charleston (South Carolina); and Raleigh (North Carolina).
According to the MEC, it also acts as an important platform for businesspersons to communicate with each other and further enhance co-operation between the private sectors of both parties. In addition, it is a good opportunity to look into establishing joint investment ventures between the two countries.
US-Qatari bilateral economic relations have grown significantly since the signing of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, or TIFA, back in 2004. Today, the US is a strong trading partner and a primary source for Qatari imports.
During the past five years, the volume of goods trade between the two countries amounted to about $24bn, noting that the number of US companies operating in Qatar is currently about 650, including about 117 wholly owned by the US side as well as 55 US companies operating under the umbrella of the Qatar Financial Centre.
The volume of US investments in Qatar amounted to QR26.3bn.
Recently, HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani said Qatar increased its investment in the US over the years, which contributed to the provision of thousands of jobs across America and investments through partnerships with many American companies such as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Raytheon.
The minister noted there are about 15,000 Americans working in Qatar, of whom about 5,000 are in jobs that require high skills within the private sector.
Sheikh Ahmed also noted the role of the Qatar Investment Authority, which has allocated $45bn of investments between 2015 and 2020, of which $10bn will be directed to invest in the infrastructure sector in the US.
He noted that these investments constitute 23% of Qatar’s GDP.
Speaking about Qatari investments in the US, the minister said that Qatar Airways has allocated about $92bn to support the US economy by purchasing 332 US-made aircraft, supporting more than 527,000 jobs.
Highlighting the Qatari private sector’s investments in the US, the minister stressed that the latter injected more than $5bn in technology, hospitality, real estate and home trade, which contributed to supporting the US economy.
