HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, accompanied by HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani, visiting various stalls at the Qatar International Trade Exhibition for Partners and Franchise which opened in Doha yesterday
QNA/Doha
HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani opened Qatar International Trade Exhibition for Partners and Franchise (ITE Qatar), which is being held on the sidelines of the International Trade Conference, currently in session at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
The Heir Apparent toured the exhibition, which is organised by a number of government and semi-government ministries and the private sector, and listened to a detailed explanation about the plans and visions for the application of the exhibition’s objectives which will help the Qatari youth to implement their own projects.
HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani admires a painting of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani
The Heir Apparent praised what he saw at the show and wished the organisers success in achieving their goals.
The organisers thanked the Heir Apparent for his continued support and encouragement of the Qatari youth and their projects.
The Trade Conference is being held to encourage entrepreneurship among Arab youth in the field of small and medium enterprises and create a mechanism of co-operation and co-ordination among the future generation for the establishment of Arab partnerships in order to promote joint Arab action in the business sector.
The two-day conference will shed the light on the role of the high politics in the Arab countries in developing projects of the Arab youth and achieving Arab integration and its role in providing the required economic environment to implement small and medium enterprises and to ensure the movement of people, products and services among Arab countries.
The conference will also discuss the diversification of investment opportunities for Arab youth, consistent with the data of each country’s economy.
The conference, organised by Qatar Promotional Board, is supported by Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation of GCC Chambers, Arab Chambers of Commerce, Industry and agriculture, and many other global trade chambers concerned with Franchise.
HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani at the Commercialbank’s stall at the Qatar International Trade Exhibition
On the other hand, ITE Qatar will bring top franchise businesses, small and medium enterprises, distributors and suppliers from over 50 sectors to exhibit. 
A number of government and semi-government ministries and private sectors of the state as well as many GCC, Arab and International companies are participating in the conference.
ITE Qatar is the leading marketplace to bring together world-leading business opportunities, franchise options, support products and services, small and medium enterprises to an audience of successful and aspirant investors who have the motivation and capital to invest into new business ventures. 
Meanwhile, addressing the International Trade Conference chairman of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani said the private sector in Qatar was satisfied with the country’s efforts in recent years to provide jobs for Qatari citizens.
He praised the leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani that encouraged the Qatarisation policy, which enabled promising Qatari youths to establish projects with the backing of the government.
HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani said that the conference will focus on providing jobs, which he said was one the most important challenges that face the world today.
He cited the International Labor Organisation’s (ILO) statistics, which said there were more than 200mn unemployed people in the world, as proof of that challenge and added that the number will increase in light of the economic crisis that affected growth rates world-wide.

HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at QNB’s stall at the Qatar International Trade Exhibition

He said that encouraging business was one of a number of solutions that can encourage the youth to establish their own projects and ease the burden of their respective governments.
He said that encouraging the youth to join the business sector will give a boost to the services sector, which represents 70% of the global economy. He added that a number of countries which were looking to achieve sustainable development looked for the private sector to play a bigger part in development.
He noted that, as part of Qatar’s effort in that regard, the country hosted the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIII). He said that a number of studies presented in UNCTAD found that countries which supported entrepreneurship and innovation were the ones with the highest growth rates in the world. 
He said that members of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry were studying all the options to help integrate more Qatari youth in the business sector. 
Concluding his speech, the chairman of QCCI expressed the hope that the International Trade Conference would achieve its goals.
Need to support SMEs stressed
Head of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) Office in Bahrain Dr Hashim Hussein has underlined the need to revitalise and stimulate domestic and foreign investments in the Arab world and to bring in advanced technology to overcome the current economic problems.
In a speech he gave yesterday at the opening session of the International Trade Conference Dr Hussein stressed the need to support and develop small and medium enterprises to empower them to compete and create.
He praised the role played by Qatar in the field of effective development of small and medium enterprises, especially in light of the country’s increasing financial and human resources.