HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani held a video conference with key stakeholders of the private sector to discuss the economic and commercial impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and solutions to overcome them.
HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari, chairman of Qatar Free Zones Authority's Board of Directors Ahmed bin Mohamed al-Sayed were present along with HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
Chairmen and representatives of both Qatar Chamber and Qatar Businessmen Association participated in the virtual meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior stressed on the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, when the latter presided over the meeting of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management on Covid-19 on March 15, on the importance of supporting the private sector and finding ways to increase its contribution in all fields to support economic development. Some of the ways were providing financial and economic stimulus to the private sector, by way of QR75bn to support commercial banks' liquidity, the stock market, and Qatar Development Bank's guarantees programme to support staff payroll-salaries and rental fees, in addition to exempting different sectors from water and electricity fees among other related measures.
HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior discussed the possibility of having the private sector take advantage of the benefits provided by free zones, which include access to the main infrastructure and logistics services, in addition to tax and regulatory benefits among others.
For their part, the businessmen thanked His Highness the Amir for the financial and economic stimulus provided to the private sector. They also thanked HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior for the meeting, stressing that they will support the state's various economic decisions.
The businessmen added that they were ready to use all their capabilities to contribute to limiting the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the national economy.
The meeting stressed on the importance of enhancing co-operation between the public and private sector constantly.