Qatar Chamber hosts joint meeting with government bodies to review obstacles facing private sector

Qatar Chamber hosted a joint meeting Wednesday with a number of ministries, institutions, and businesspersons to discuss challenges facing the private sector and their respective solutions.
The meeting also gave the opportunity for Qatari stakeholders to present their concerns before officials of the Ministry of Interior (MoI), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Ministry of Labour (MoL), and Qatar Development Bank (QDB) who participated in the meeting.
The event was attended by Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani; MoI Director General of the Department of Passports Brigadier Mohamed bin Ahmed al-Ateeq; MoL Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs Mohamed Hassan al-Obaidli; MoCI Assistant Undersecretary for Commerce Affairs Saleh bin Majed al-Khulaifi; MoCI Assistant Undersecretary for Industry Affairs Mohamed Hassan al-Malki; QDB acting CEO Abdulrahman Hesham al-Sowaidi, and Qatar Chamber general manager Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi.
Sheikh Khalifa said the meeting embodies the positive cooperation between the public and private sectors for the good of the national economy. He noted that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani underscored the importance of prioritising public-private partnerships.
He said the private sector has been a genuine government partner for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which resulted in “the best-ever edition in the history of the championship.”
Sheikh Khalifa said the chamber is keen to solve all challenges facing the private sector, noting that in preparation for the meeting, Qatar Chamber surveyed companies and business owners on the obstacles they are facing, which would be discussed with government agencies to find appropriate solutions.
The meeting discussed many topics and inquiries by businessmen, including businessmen’s visas, signing the establishment registration, providing facilities to entrepreneurs and startups, displaying national products within distribution outlets, and plans to support investment opportunities for SMEs.
Topics also included the recruitment of workers, facilitating procedures for obtaining licences and necessary industrial lands, and QDB’s requirements to provide finance for SMEs.
Al-Ateeq said business visas are not suspended but there are some controls to ensure that they are issued to genuine businessmen and not to workers.
Al-Obaidli said the ban on all companies with violations is no longer applicable except for rare cases. Following earlier meetings with the chamber, it was decided not to impose the ban on all companies except for certain cases.
Al-Khulaifi said the MoCI recently established a department for business development. He said there is a plan to offer a host of investment opportunities, which will be announced soon. The reduction of fees for all commercial licenses is under consideration, he added.
Al-Malki noted that there are plans to offer investment opportunities and new lands in the industrial sector based on the market’s status. He said the ministry will soon provide an industrial consulting service to businessmen.
Al-Sowaidi said QDB annually issues a list of “unattractive industries” that the bank does not finance.
Al-Sharqi said the chamber intends to hold a series of meetings with other government agencies concerned to discuss the various obstacles facing the private sector. He said the chamber will soon prepare for a second meeting that includes different ministries and government agencies.
He also noted that regular meetings will be held to follow up on any developments facing businessmen and that all inquiries and obstacles presented by businessmen to the chamber will be reviewed through joint committees comprising the chamber and various ministries and government agencies.
He assured that solving the obstacles facing the private sector and enabling it to perform its expected role in the state’s economic development is a joint objective for all relevant agencies.
Al-Sharqi called on all businessmen to provide the chamber with a list of all the obstacles they are facing so that it can arrange meetings with the concerned bodies to find appropriate solutions.