Qatar-Germany Business and Investment Forum reflects the solidity and intensity of the relationship between the two countries, the high volume of investments and highlights the fact that Qatar is the biggest foreign investor in Germany, HE the Minister of Finance Ali Sherif al-Emadi said on Friday.
He was addressing the second session of the forum in Berlin.
The session was titled "Financial sector: A solid line of defence for economic security and project financing".
“We have managed to overcome the unjust siege due to the strength of our economy despite the difficulties that we faced at the beginning. We have emerged from the crisis strong and we also seen a growth in the foreign exchange reserve estimated at 50%,” he explained while pointing out that the financial strength plays an important role as Qatar is the region's fastest-growing economy.
Al-Emadi asserted that Qatar seeks to make the domestic market attractive to foreign investment.
Doha has taken many measures to facilitate the entry and investment in this market in addition to streamlining legislation.
Work is continuing to improve the investment climate in the country.
He appreciated the role of German financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank, and their facilities to the private sector, and the particular role that the bank plays in supporting the German economy.
Speaking at the same session, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) CEO HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani said Qatar is the best investment destination in the region, offering the best quality of service.
There is no problem even under the prevailing Gulf crisis, he declared.
On the conditions set by Qatar to achieve its objectives, the QIA CEO said there is a diversity of investment although there are shortcomings in some areas not dealt with previously.
There is also investment in artificial intelligence, which is part of the strategy to diversify, he said.
"We are raising the efficiency of the working cadres alongside long-term planning, and look forward to opening new horizons," Sheikh Abdullah said, citing as an example the G5 network and how to invest in it for improving infrastructure and faster Internet, which "will benefit us in many areas, and we are trying to co-ordinate our efforts with those of the global market".
He explained that there is a surplus in the Qatar sovereign funds and hoped to achieve profit. "We can invest across the world, and we have close ties with Germany. Certainly, we are not active partners but financial partners. And in some of the companies we have a stake in, we are not represented in the Boards of Directors, we invest only."
"In the past 10 years, we have been interested in many areas such as finance and technology, and we will continue our efforts in Germany and the whole world to invest in the field of celebrations and conferences.
The strength of Qatar's economy has come from QIA's support to the projects and implementation of government directives," he said, adding that banking sector offers great opportunities.
"We have not only supported the financial sector but we have also diversified our investment. We are co-operating closely with international institutions in many countries around the world.”