Qatar’s newly established Investment Promotion Agency (IPAQ) has joined the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), an international non-governmental organisation that provides opportunities for investment promotion agencies worldwide to network and exchange best practices in investment promotion.
The IPAQ serves as a complete source of investment solutions for foreign direct investment (FDI) in all of Qatar’s priority sectors. Its membership of WAIPA will provide the agency access to resources and significant advances in FDI facilitation, and the opportunity to network and share effective strategies in attracting investments.
It will add to Qatar's continued success in attracting FDI; investments in Qatar have gone through a 6.6% increase in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the corresponding quarter of last year, according to the quarterly FDI report issued by the Planning and Statistics Authority and the Qatar Central Bank.
"IPAQ was established to boost Qatar's FDI by providing international investors with a simple and streamlined process for establishing businesses in the country. Our membership of the WAIPA will enhance our capacity to provide premium services to international businesses wishing to set up operations in Qatar,” said HE Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari, Minister of Commerce and Industry and chairman of IPAQ.
Sheikh Ali al-Waleed al-Thani, chief executive, IPAQ, said it is honoured to join the WAIPA and is eager to learn from their vast experience in strategic execution of investment promotion activities.
"As a country that has seen notable success in FDI, we are also keen on sharing our experiences in investment strategy, as well as contribute to the development of IPA best practices and international standards," he said.
The mutual benefits from this association will be "significant" and it is looking forward to working with WAIPA and other investment promotion agencies worldwide in promoting and developing their capacity to contribute to the economic development, he added.
"We as WAIPA serve as a platform for IPAs worldwide and we believe that all goals are achieved faster with a systematic and collaborative approach," according to Bostjan Skalar, executive director, WAIPA.
The other members of the IPAQ advisory board are HE Ahmad bin Mohamed al-Sayed, Minister of State and chairman of the Qatar Free Zones Authority; Saud al-Attiyah, deputy undersecretary for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance; Khamis al-Mohannadi, chairman of the Technical Committee of the Ministerial Group for the Promotion of the Private Sector; Mohamed Bader al-Sada, chief executive, Media City; Saleh Majid al-Khulaifi, acting undersecretary for Trade Affairs; Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida, chief executive, Qatar Financial Centre Authority; and Yosouf Abdulrahman al-Salehi, executive director, Qatar Science and Technology Park.