HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani has said international trade and investment are a key part of Qatar’s future growth and economic diversification policy.
The US was the primary source of the Qatari imports in 2017, he said in his opening address to the Qatar-US Economic Forum in Miami on Wednesday.
He said Qatar imported 16% of its imports from the US. He noted that over the past 10 years, trade between the two countries has doubled from $3bn to $6bn.
During the past five years, the volume of goods trade between the two countries amounted to about $24bn, noting that the number of US companies operating in Qatar is currently about 650, including about 117 wholly owned by the US side as well as 55 US companies operating under the umbrella of the Qatar Financial Centre.
Sheikh Ahmed said Qatar has increased its investment in the US over the years, which contributed to the provision of thousands of jobs across America and investments through partnerships with many American companies such as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Raytheon.
The minister noted there are about 15,000 American working citizens in Qatar, of whom about 5,000 are in jobs that require high skills within the private sector.
Sheikh Ahmed noted the role of the Qatar Investment Authority, which has allocated $45bn of investments between 2015 and 2020, of which $10bn will be directed to invest in the infrastructure sector in the US. 
He noted that these investments constitute 23% of Qatar’s GDP.
Speaking about Qatari investments in the US, the minister said that Qatar Airways has allocated about $92bn to support the US economy by purchasing 332 US-made aircraft, supporting more than 527,000 jobs.
Highlighting the Qatari private sector’s investments in the US, the minister stressed that the latter injected more than $5bn in technology, hospitality, real estate and home trade, which contributed to supporting the US economy.
Florida, he said, is one of the most attractive destinations for these investments.
Sheikh Ahmed said that the total value of exports and confirmed orders to Qatar amounted to about $145.8bn, which in turn contributed to the provision of 1mn US jobs based on existing investments with Qatar.
The Qatar-US Economic Forum, he said was being held during a series of challenges following the unilateral decision by some neighbouring countries to impose an illegal blockade on Qatar aimed at undermining its position as an independent country.
Sheikh Ahmed said Qatar has succeeded in strengthening its position and independence more than ever before.
“The crisis has provided the opportunity to make the Qatari economy more open to all countries of the world. Qatar succeeded in developing direct trade lines with a number of strategic ports and turning them into the main trading partners of the state,” the minister stressed.
The wise policies being pursued by Qatar have stimulated all sectors to increase their productivity, which has positively impacted the national economy and achieved positive growth rates during the past year. 
“This confirmed the extent of its flexibility and showed that it was not much affected by the unjust blockade,” Sheikh Ahmed added.