A major firm in Ukraine specialising in amber extraction, processing, and production, as well as the manufacture of amber jewellery, could play a significant role in the growth and development of Qatar’s amber industry, an official of the Qatar-Ukraine Business Forum (QUBF) said.
According to QUBF founder and chairperson Dr Olga Revina, the participation of Ambers Group Ukraine in the recently held ‘Katara International Kahraman Exhibition’ opened opportunities for collaboration between Qatar and Ukraine in the amber industry.
“The participation of Ambers in the exhibition was essential and timely, especially now that Qatar aims to become an amber hub in Middle East with the opening of the Katara Centre for Amber inside Katara – the Cultural Village.
“And I am confident to say that Ambers Group Ukraine, as a leading brand with its expertise and certified products, can definitely contribute to the development of Qatar’s amber industry,” Revina told Gulf Times yesterday.  On the sidelines of the exhibition, Revina, together with the Ambers team led by owner Halyna Symha, held a meeting with Katara General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, and presented him with a Desert Rose made from amber.
“This is Ambers’ first contribution to the Katara Centre for Amber to signify further fruitful collaboration… acting as a joint business council, it is important for QUBF to introduce such unique companies in Qatar, which makes positive impact in promoting Ukraine and to increase trade volume between the two countries,” Revina pointed out.
“The Ambers team observed that among the more than 80 exhibitors at the exhibition, Ambers was the only one that operates its own industrial mining and processing of amber,” she explained.
Revina said Ambers is an umbrella for different trademarks, such as Ambra Simha, Sun Craft Centre, and the Ukrainian Amber World Association that extracts and processes amber from Volodymyrets-Skhidnyi deposit in Western Ukraine.
“One of the planned collaborations between Ambers and the centre would be the amber tours for Qatari amber collectors and enthusiasts to amber mining sites in Ukraine. In the future, Qataris can extract their own amber stones. QUBF will facilitate this activity, as well,” she said.
Revina stressed that the individual meetings organised by QUBF also led to the setting up of strategic partnerships with leading companies in Qatar. Ambers received a proposal to be introduced in the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE) slated next month in Doha, she said.
“QUBF aims to facilitate joint bilateral collaboration across all industries and to attract the most exclusive and high-quality Ukrainian products to meet the competitive demand of the Qatari market.
“We affiliated branches in Ukraine and QUBF works closely with the Embassy of Ukraine in Qatar to consolidate professional efforts by supporting companies and identify relevant business partners, as well as to guide them on a successful market entry, while making an essential contribution in enhancing economic ties between Qatar and Ukraine,” Revina stressed.