The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) held a meeting Sunday with Ville Skinnari, Finland’s Minister of Development Co-operation and Foreign Trade, who is in the country to attend the official opening of the Embassy of Finland in Qatar.
QBA officials who welcomed the minister include the association’s Chairman, HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani and Saud al-Mana, board member. The meeting was also attended by the ambassador of the Republic of Finland to the State of Qatar Pekka Voutilainen.
QBA members Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal al-Thani, Nabil Abu Issa, Sheikh Turki bin Faisal al-Thani, Youssef al-Mahmoud, Maqbool Habib Khalfan, and Ihsan al-Khiyami, as well as QBA deputy general manager Sarah Abdullah, were present during the meeting.
Skinnari, who praised the close relations between Qatar and Finland, called on Qatari businessmen to invest in Finland, noting that there are many investment opportunities to enhance co-operation in many sectors, such as oil and gas, advanced technological industries, smart cities, maritime industries, and other fields.
The meeting discussed ways to enhance relations in the economic and trade fields. It also reviewed the investment climate and opportunities available in both countries, as well as the possibility of developing relations between Qatari businessmen and their Finnish counterparts to establish joint investments, especially with the current co-operation in the aviation sector between Qatar Airways and Fin Air, which aims to make Doha a regional air hub between the region and Scandinavian countries.
Potential joint investments were also discussed given the presence of Finnish companies, such as Nokia and others in World Cup-related projects and their successful co-operation with FIFA and the Doha Metro, which was lauded by the Finnish minister. Skinnari lauded the opening of Finland’s embassy in Qatar, which aims at strengthening Qatari-Finnish relations and elevating them to a new stage of co-operation.
Sheikh Faisal praised the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the commercial fields. He said the Qatari private sector welcomes the strengthening of co-operation with its Finnish counterpart and highlighted the desire of Qatari businessmen to visit Finland to explore investment opportunities.
Sheikh Faisal also welcomed the idea of welcoming a delegation of Finnish companies in Qatar to discuss co-operation opportunities that offer multiple advantages to foreign investors. He also stressed during his speech that the local market is ready to receive various Finnish investments.
For his part, al-Mana noted that there are a number of Finnish companies that have invested in Qatar’s tourism and medical sectors, and in elevators, among others. He said this confirms that Finnish businessmen are willing to explore more opportunities.
Voutilainen also praised Qatar-Finland relations, saying trade exchange witnessed growth. He underscored efforts to enhance cooperation in the coming years. The ambassador congratulated Qatar’s organisation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, stressing that the tournament will be remembered. He said the tournament’s success is an indication of a potential increase in tourism flow to both countries after the tournament.