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Qatar’s commitment to open trade has become the decisive safeguard for its food supply, ensuring year round availability even amid global disruptions. In an interview held on the sidelines of the India Utsav 2026 celebration, Dr Mohamed Althaf, director and chief sustainability officer (CSO) of LuLu Group, said Qatar’s liberal trade regime, combined with India’s rise as a global food supplier, has positioned the country to withstand shocks and maintain stability. Althaf emphasised that India’s transformation from a producer for domestic consumption to a global food factory has reshaped its role in international markets. He noted that India’s vast geography and diverse climatic zones allow it to produce a wide range of commodities, making it a reliable partner for Qatar’s food security. He explained that despite supply chain disruptions and adverse weather events, India’s export sector remains resilient. This resilience, he continued, has been critical in supporting Qatar’s food needs, particularly during crises when direct access to top leadership helped stabilise prices and resolve bottlenecks quickly. Althaf emphasised that Qatar’s food security infrastructure is built on historical experience and structural strengths. While domestic production is limited, he said the country maintains extensive storage reserves, world class ports, and one of the highest densities of maritime services globally. He stressed that Qatar’s trade policy is a “fundamental guarantee of economic security.” Unlike countries where restrictive import permissions and regulatory hurdles drive up costs, Althaf pointed out that Qatar permits open imports provided standards are met. To illustrate the risks of restrictive policies, Althaf cited Australia’s banana shortage, where strict rules prevented imports from New Zealand, pushing prices to $15 per fruit. He contrasted this with Qatar’s approach, which avoids artificial shortages by keeping trade channels open. “LuLu Group plays a central role in this framework, operating 25 sourcing offices worldwide to recalibrate supply routes when disruptions occur,” underlined Althaf, who added that alternative routing through Red Sea ports can be deployed swiftly, ensuring continuity. He highlighted Qatar’s government support during crises, including guaranteed airlift capabilities for critical food products and coordination with national maritime entities to keep supply chains intact. Althaf explained that market dynamics typically recalibrate within five to six months, either through demand adjustment or route optimisation. Retailers absorb costs rather than passing them to consumers, while stable tax structures and producing nations with export surpluses help balance expenses, he continued. He added that Qatar’s resilience rests on mutual trust between leadership, residents, and the business community, reinforced by liberal trade policies and proactive government intervention. 

The Business Continuity and Resilience Conference (BCRC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PwC Middle East in Qatar as its Knowledge Partner for the 2025 edition of BCRC.The collaboration supports Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy (NDS3) by enhancing business continuity and resilience across key sectors, including banking, healthcare, energy, and government. It combines BCRC’s convening power with PwC’s regional and global expertise in Digital Trust and Business Continuity (BCM), enabling organisations to safeguard growth, protect services, and reinforce long-term competitiveness.Engineer Abdullatif Ali al-Yafei, chairman and conference president, said: “The agreement reflects the commitment to shaping a stronger, more resilient economy by elevating the standards of business continuity in Qatar and beyond.Bassam Hajhamad, Qatar Country senior partner and consulting leader, said: “Through our cross-sector BCM and Digital Trust expertise, we will bring frameworks and tools that enable leaders to anticipate risks, protect value, and achieve outcomes that matter to their organisations and Qatar’s future.”In a related development, BCRC and PwC Middle East co-hosted a workshop titled ‘BCM Practices in Qatar’.The workshop provided participants with the practical knowledge and skills necessary to build a resilient organisation by establishing an integrated business continuity governance framework. The framework relies on a proactive approach to testing, updating, and continuous improvement to ensure the effectiveness of plans and foster a culture of continuity within the organisation.Al-Yafei said the joint workshop marks the first step in a long-term capability-building journey that will empower leaders in government and semi-government sectors and practitioners in the field of BCM.

AlRayan Bank announced that it has been awarded the National Information Assurance (NIA) Certification by the State of Qatar’s National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA). Achieved to a high standard within a short timeframe, this milestone reflects the bank’s sustained focus on strengthening information protection and cyber resilience in the face of rising global threats. The certification ceremony took place at The Ritz-Carlton, Doha.Unlike traditional security standards that sit mainly within IT, NIA is a strategic, Qatar-tailored assurance framework that integrates cybersecurity across the entire enterprise, governance, processes, and frontline business functions. For AlRayan Bank, the certification represents a major step forward in safeguarding information assets, elevating security practices across every department, and contributing to the State’s national information security strategy in line with international best practice. It also signals independent assurance of the Bank’s cybersecurity maturity, deeper protection for customers, staff, assets, and shareholders, greater confidence among partners, strengthened resilience against evolving cyber risks, support for compliance with national and global standards, and the continued cultivation of a pervasive, organisation-wide security culture.Commenting on the achievement, Omar al-Emadi, Acting Group Chief Executive Officer at AlRayan Bank, said: “We are proud to receive the NIA Certification, a clear reflection of AlRayan Bank’s relentless focus on information protection and cyber resilience. This is a pivotal step in our journey to safeguard information assets and embed robust security practices across the bank. It also affirms our active contribution to Qatar’s national information security strategy, in line with global best practice. Above all, it embodies our steadfast commitment to protecting our customers’ and partners’ data, strengthening our ability to anticipate and counter cyber risks, and ensuring greater resilience and secure business continuity.”Al-Emadi added that the Bank extends its appreciation to the National Cyber Security Agency for its leadership and guidance in enabling AlRayan Bank to meet the certification requirements. Building on this foundation, the bank will continue to deepen trust with customers and shareholders through credible, stable, and secure digital banking services, making AlRayan Bank their first choice.