QBA hosts luncheon in honour of greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; QBWA signs MoU with Hispanic chamber

The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) has organised a business luncheon in honour of the visit of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce headed by its president, Nicole Quiroga.
During the meeting, which was attended by the Qatari Businesswomen Association (QBWA), an MoU was signed between QBWA vice-chairwoman Aisha Alfardan and Quiroga.
The meeting was also attended by QBA board member Saud al-Mana and QBA members Sheikh Faisal bin Fahd al-Thani, Khaled al-Mannai, Maqbool Habib Khalfan, and Dr Mohamed Altaf, in addition to QBA deputy general manager Sarah Abdullah, as well as Abdul al-Razzaq al-Kuwari and Ali Mahmoudi, representatives of Al-Faisal Holding Group.
Joining Alfardan during the meeting were QBWA board members Awatef al-Dafaa, Amal al-Aathem, Mishael al-Ansari, Huda Hobbi, Dr Tahani Saker, Mashaal al-Derham, Jameela Mohamed, and QBWA executive director Jiskala Khalayli.
The Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber delegation comprised approximately 20 companies representing various sectors, such as Information Technology, healthcare, tourism, energy, environment, professional services, and hospitality.
Al-Mana welcomed the delegation on its first visit to Qatar and stressed the importance of US-Qatar relations and the growth of trade exchange between the two countries, which has witnessed a significant increase recently as a result of the increased interest of American companies in the Qatari market and the conducive investment climate that Doha provides to foreign investors.
He also stressed that Qatari businessmen and women are ready to discuss any value-added projects that contribute to economic development and strengthening bilateral relations.
Quiroga said the chamber chose Doha as its first stop due to the good reputation that Qatar enjoys, especially after organising the 2022 FIFA World Cup. She noted that Qatar has an attractive business climate and significant infrastructure, stressing that the chamber is striving to enhance friendships with organisations and business associations, such as QBA and QBWA.
Alfardan said the US is an important trading partner for Qatar and ranks second in terms of exports to Doha. She stressed that small and medium industries represent the backbone of the Qatari economy and that the QBWA is open to constructive co-operation and discussing new partnerships with members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington.
Sheikh Faisal also emphasised that trade relations between the two countries have grown steadily, linked by strong economic relations, which was clearly evident when Qatar and the US established a business council to facilitate trade exchange and investments. He said American companies play an important role in developing the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors in the country.
The MoU between QBWA and the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce focuses on encouraging and facilitating economic co-operation between the two parties and promoting small and medium-sized enterprises in both Washington and Doha.
The MoU also aims at exchanging potential investment opportunities, in addition to exchanging experiences and technical co-operation between the two sides. It is worth mentioning that the volume of trade between the US and Qatar reached its peak in 2022 standing at $6.7bn, doubling the amount registered in 2021. “The numbers for this year are also promising,” QBA noted in a statement.