QDB chief executive officer Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa (left) and the Ministry of Finance’s Abdulaziz Zeid Rashid al-Taleb. PICTURE: Thajudheen

By Peter Alagos
Business Reporter


Access to international markets through Qatar Development Bank’s (QDB) export development arm, Tasdeer, has helped non-hydrocarbon exports reach QR2.4bn in 2014, a QDB official has said.
Since establishing Tasdeer in 2011, non-hydrocarbon exports stood at QR500mn and grew to QR2.4bn last year, said QDB chief executive officer Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa.
Figures for this year remain unavailable but exports from Qatar’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector have already reached QR1.7bn, added al-Khalifa, who announced the staging of the 15th World Export Development Forum (WEDF) on October 20 to 21 at the Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel.
“Access to new markets through the development and promotion of Qatar’s export sector, and finding innovative solutions and forging of partnerships would reinforce the competitive edge of these companies,” noted al-Khalifa.
Citing the success of Qatar SMEs in the Moroccan and Tunisian markets, al-Khalifa noted that Tasdeer “activates and reinforces” Qatar exports through international match-making to open the global market to SMEs here.
“The export of halal food is a very promising market and Qatar companies have an export potential in this sector. There is a significant demand for halal food in the international market, and given the position of Qatar SMEs, it makes them pioneers in this sector,” al-Khalifa emphasised.
Abdulaziz Zeid Rashid al-Taleb, director of Government Procurement Regulations at the Ministry of Finance, said: “The Ministry of Finance helps Qatar SMEs reinforce partnerships with local, regional, and international players. Keeping SMEs abreast with global innovations will also help them find opportunities to expand.”
Al-Taleb also said the Finance Ministry, QDB, in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC), a subsidiary organisation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), will host WEDF 2015.
Al-Khalifa said more than 50 Qatar SMEs are expected to attend WEDF 2015, which will be held for the first time in the Middle East.
He said WEDF 2015, whose focus is on “Sustainable Trade: Innovate, Invest, Internationalise,” will feature a range of specialised workshops, high-level plenaries, and B2B networking events to help SMEs enhance “new competitive partnerships.”
“WEDF 2015 also gathers more than 400 senior policymakers, business leaders, heads of national trade to support institutions, and international agency officials to address trade competitiveness topics and to establish new partnerships,” al-Khalifa said.
Other themes included in the forum revolve around trade in services, tourism, trade and investment, innovation and entrepreneurship, and halal standards, among others.