Qatar participated in the 11th Belt and Road Summit, hosted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the theme *Advancing High-Quality Development: Embarking on a New Journey.
Qatar was represented at the summit by HE the Minister of State for Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Sayed.
The summit was opened by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Chief Executive John Lee in the presence of senior officials and heads and representatives of regional and international organisations.
In his speech during a policy dialogue session held as part of the summit, HE Dr al-Sayed stressed that the summit represents an important platform for strengthening dialogue, expanding the horizons of co-operation, and building economic partnerships capable of keeping pace with the rapid transformations taking place around the world.
Regarding the economic and trade relations between Qatar and Hong Kong, the minister stressed the importance of developing bilateral co-operation, given Hong Kong's position as a global hub for trade, investment, financial services and logistics, as well as the opportunities it provides to strengthen Qatar's links with Asian markets.
He noted that the volume of trade between Qatar and Hong Kong amounted to approximately $1.7bn over the past four years.
HE Dr al-Sayed also pointed out that many Hong Kong companies are operating in the Qatar market, reflecting the opportunities available to take these relations to broader levels.
He highlighted the importance of expanding areas of trade co-operation through organising trade exhibitions and markets and participating in them on a reciprocal basis.
Such efforts, the minister said, would help promote national goods and products and open new prospects for their access to Asian markets.
He invited Hong Kong companies to benefit from the competitive economic and investment environment offered by Qatar, as well as the services and advantages provided by its free zones, in order to establish high-quality partnerships across various sectors that serve the Qatar market and provide a platform for accessing new markets in the region.
On the sidelines of the summit, HE Dr al-Sayed held bilateral meetings with ministers and officials participating in the summit.
He held meetings with Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee as well as Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Algernon Yau, Financial Secretary Paul Chan.
The minister also held meetings with Pakistan’s Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Bangladesh’s Minister of Commerce, Industry, Textiles and Jute Khandker Abdul Muktadir, Sari Lanka’s Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, and Thailand’s Vice-Minister of Commerce Dr Kirida Bhaopichitr.
The meetings reviewed opportunities for co-operation in various fields and ways to strengthen economic, trade and investment partnerships. – QNA