The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) headed by its Chairman, HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, held a meeting with Algerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Mohamed Abdel Hafeez Hani to discuss the potential investment opportunities in the agricultural sector.
The meeting, which was held in Algeria, was attended by Qatar’s ambassador to Algeria Abdulaziz Ali Ahmed al-Naama and QBA members Sheikh Mohamed bin Faisal al-Thani and Moataz al-Khayyat, as well as Sheikh Nayef bin Eid al-Thani, Rashid al-Mansouri, and Al Rayan Group for Tourism and Investment CEO Tariq al-Sayed.
During the meeting, which took place in the presence of ministry officials, the two parties discussed the investment opportunities available in Algeria to develop partnership projects between Algerian and Qatari investors.
The minister reviewed the strategy adopted by the sector aimed at developing agriculture in Algeria, highlighting the incentives provided to national and foreign businessmen to invest in the production and transformation of products of wide consumption, such as milk, cereals, fodder, dry legumes, and industrial crops, especially sugar and oil.
Hani stressed that Algeria has sufficient stocks of grain until the end of the year and that it will not be affected by the changes taking place at the global level. He said the grain and dairy sectors are a priority for the government.
“The State is making great efforts to raise the production capacities of grain nationally. The ministry's objectives are based on the development of agriculture in desert states that have great capabilities, especially in strategic agricultural products,” Hani said.
He said there is a shortage in the milk and dairy sector and that a huge project is being studied with Qatari company Baladna in the near future to ensure self-sufficiency, adding that the State is working hard to overcome all obstacles to the success of this Strategic project.
Sheikh Faisal said bilateral relations between Qatar and Algeria are solid and that there is great interest from Qatari businessmen to invest in Algeria whether in tourism, real estate, agriculture, and other productive sectors. He said Algeria has huge potential and is a promising market, especially for its proximity to some European nations.
He also spoke about his own experience as an investor in Algeria and stressed the importance of the Algerian market and the great natural and economic potentials of the country, in addition to the presence of vast and fertile lands of interest to investors in the agricultural field.
Sheikh Faisal added that Qatari businessmen are keen to discuss the co-operation and investment opportunities in both countries to achieve mutual benefits. For his part, al-Naama expressed the readiness of Qatari businessmen to invest in Algeria’s agriculture sector and to exchange expertise with their Algerian counterparts.
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