Business interest among Singapore companies in the Qatar market remains strong, further boosting economic and possible avenues of collaboration between the two countries, Singaporean ambassador Jai Sohan has said.
“Our companies have participated in projects in Qatar in various sectors, including waste and water management, oil and gas, urban planning and e-solutions,” the envoy told Gulf Times.
Qatar and Singapore, which enjoy warm bilateral relations since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in January 1984, co-operate in a number of areas such as trade and investment, energy, public sector training, urban planning, and environmental and water management.
In 2019, Sohan noted that Qatar was Singapore’s third largest trading partner in the Middle East. Bilateral trade amounted to S$8.64bn (about QR22.5bn) with energy exports from Qatar comprising almost 80% of the two countries’ bilateral trade.
He also urged Qatar’s energy companies to explore using Singapore as a regional hub to conduct their Liquefied Natural Gas-related business in Southeast Asia – a region of approximately 650mn people, and many rapidly growing economies.
The envoy said they also established the Singapore Business Council Qatar (SBCQ), comprising Singaporean professionals and businesspersons from across all industry sectors and registered with the Qatar Financial Centre, to further boost the economic relationship between the two countries. He noted that SBCQ aims to deepen connections between the business communities of both countries, as well as serve as a resource point for companies interested in exploring commercial opportunities in the two markets.
Sohan cited the strong relations between the two countries, saying “our leaders know each other well, and we had a healthy exchange of bilateral visits prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has unfortunately resulted in a cessation of most international travel.”
Qatar and Singapore also aim to further develop their co-operation, explore business opportunities in various areas, including the small- and medium-sized enterprises sector.
Last year, more than 100 Singaporean professionals in Qatar, apart from other local business community members with close connection to Singapore, took part in a networking event for hosted by Qatar Chamber, which also aims to deepen trade relations between the two countries.
Singaporean ambassador Jai Sohan
