The first phase of Qatar's economic tour of the United States has been successful in strengthening bilateral co-operation in trade and investment, the Minister of Economy and Commerce HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani has affirmed.

Four US cities -- Miami, Washington, DC, Charleston and Raleigh--- were covered during the first leg of the Qatar-US Economic Forum that was kicked off in Miami on April 10.
On the occasion of the conclusion of the tour, the minister expressed optimism about the positive results achieved through the initiative.
"We have seen the success of the tour through our meetings with officials, investors and corporate executives from the US, and through a meeting of Qatari businessmen and their American counterparts, who expressed their desire to co-operate with Qatari entrepreneurs in forging partnerships for investment projects in the two countries," HE the Minister said in a statement.
The tour witnessed the signing of a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding between Qatari and US companies, he said. 
HE Sheikh Ahmed said the United States is one of the largest and most important trading partners of Qatar, where the volume of trade exchange between the two countries is about $ 6bn , and that the United States with 16% was the first source of Qatar's imports in 2017. More than 650 US companies are operating in Qatar.
During the tour, the Minister of Economy and Commerce held several meetings with senior government officials, members of the US Congress, World Bank officials, the International Monetary Fund, businessmen and senior corporate executives to expand economic, commercial and investment co-operation between Qatar and the United States.
In addition, the minister attended a number of activities held on the sidelines of the economic tour.
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce organised four economic forums in Miami, Washington, Charleston and Raleigh in co-operation with Qatar Chamber, American Chamber of Commerce, Qatar Businessmen Association, Qatar-US Business Council and a number of US official bodies. These events provided opportunities for exchanging of views between businessmen of the two countries and contributed to enhancing co-operation between the private sectors on both sides to establish joint investment projects.
More than 200 businessmen and Qatari officials as well as 200 businessmen and CEOs of major US companies participated in the economic forum.
On the sidelines , a number of discussion sessions were held between business representatives of both sides with the aim of strengthening existing economic partnership and organising dialogue on investment opportunities in fields like food security, tourism, logistics and infrastructure .
The event also featured an exhibition that brought together representatives from major institutions in Qatar, including the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Qatar Airways, Doha Film Institute and Qatar Foundation along with a number of US companies that have partnered in investment projects with Qatar, such as Occidental Petroleum, Boeing, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

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