HH the Emir, along with other dignitaries, attending the Qatar Chamber golden jubilee celebrations yesterday.
By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter
The Qatar Chamber, whose aim is to promote Doha as an international business hub, yesterday celebrated its golden jubilee with HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani inaugurating the festivities.
“During these long years, the Qatar Chamber entrenched its national, regional and international position, reaching tangible achievements and steps and reinforcing the role of the private sector in supporting the national economy and development,” QC chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassem bin Mohamed al-Thani said in the presence of Prime Minister HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani.
The function also saw the presence of who-is-who in the country’s corporate sector as well as top officials and representatives of Gulf and Arab chambers of commerce.
HH the Emir on Tuesday had said Qatar would use all available tools to contain inflation, which is described as the foremost problem associated with the rapid growth of the economy.
Qatar’s annual inflation stood at 2.7% in September and the core inflation, which excludes rent, showed a marginal increase, according to figures released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics.
QNB recently said the country’s inflation is expected to rise moderately to 3.6% this year and 3.8% in 2014 as higher infrastructure spending will result in a large inflow of workers, putting pressure on housing and prices.
An EC Harris report had said Qatar’s construction inflation could peak to 18% during the World Cup building boom between 2016 and 2019, potentially adding billions to the cost of development and overheating the economy.
Established in 1963, the Qatar Chamber - which seeks to attract international investment -- is considered one of the oldest peer groups in the Gulf region.
The chamber, which successfully hosted the World Chambers Congress this year, strengthened Qatar’s relationship with many countries and helped to enhance the level of trade exchange, said Sheikh Khalifa, who is also council member of the World Chambers Federation and a member of the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) G20 Advisory Group.
“We focus on developing the services we provide to business society in Qatar and following up suitable national and regional economic policies which help in developing the investing environment in Qatar, which has long been characterised as being exceptional,” he said.
The mission of the chamber, he said, is to represent and support the business community in Qatar and to contribute to Qatar’s National Vision 2030 by highlighting the vast business opportunities in every industry within Qatar to the international business community.