The Qatari Businessmen Association is looking into investment opportunities in the medical tourism sector in Switzerland
- Upon receiving a delegation of Swiss companies and hospitals:
- The Qatari Businessmen Association is looking into investment opportunities in the medical tourism sector in Switzerland
- Ambassador Dorig: 5 billion riyals, the volume of bilateral trade and we look forward to attracting Swiss tourists to Doha
The Qatari Businessmen Association organized a business lunch in honor of the visit of a delegation of Swiss companies and hospitals specialized in medical tourism and medical services, headed by His Excellency Mr. Edgar Dorig, Ambassador of Switzerland to the State of Qatar.
From QBA, the meeting was attended by QBA Board Member Mr. Sherida Al Kaabi, and QBA members: Mr. Omar Al Fardan, Mr. Khalid Al Mannai, Mr. Maqbool Habib Khalfan, Mr. Nabil Abu Issa, Sheikh Khalid bin Nawaf Al Thani, the GM of Nasser Bin Khaled Holding Company, Mr. Abdullah Al Kubaisi, Mr. Dhafer Halawa, and Mr. Rashid Al Mansouri, CEO of Aamal Holding Group, and Ms. Sarah Abdullah, QBA Deputy GM.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Sherida Al Kaabi, QBA Board member, welcomed the Swiss delegation and spoke about the depth of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Al-Kaabi stressed out the important opportunities for tourism and investment in the two countries, noting that while Switzerland is a major tourist destination for Qataris and Gulf residents, Qatar is on the verge of organizing an exceptional version of the World Cup, where the country welcomes the Swiss fans and tourists.
Bilateral Trade
For his part, His Excellency Mr. Edgar Dorig, Ambassador of Switzerland to Qatar, highlighted that there are promising opportunities to enhance Qatari-Swiss cooperation in various sectors, especially tourism and medical tourism. He also indicated that the volume of trade between the two countries rose to more than 5 billion riyals in 2021, which witnessed an increase compared to 2020, when the volume of inter-trade reached 2.6 billion riyals.
His Excellency said that the Swiss national team's qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will increase the interest of the Swiss in visiting Qatar.
The Qatari Market
For his part, Mr. Omar Hussein Al-Fardan, QBA member, said that after the Corona pandemic, there is an increasing interest by the members of the Qatari Businessmen in the health sector and health technology, and that relations with Switzerland are growing in many fields, including tourism, especially medical treatment, which opens prospects for further closer cooperation between the private sector in the two countries
Also H.E. Mr. Dorig, Ambassador of Switzerland to Qatar, stressed out that the Qatari market is becoming increasingly important to Switzerland, and Qatar is the third largest market for Switzerland in the Middle East and North Africa, and there is an increase in the number of tourists from Switzerland to Qatar, he also added that there are important investment opportunities, and the World Cup is giving positive signals about the region, and he added, "We are optimistic as there are investments for Katara Hospitality that are prominent landmarks for Qatari investments in Switzerland, which are in three luxury hotels that belong to the largest luxury hotel group in Switzerland, and this is a very important development, and I expect that there will be an increase in investments in the two countries. "
50 Years of Relations
The ambassador also said that next year the two countries will celebrate 50 years of establishing their diplomatic relations, which means that after the World Cup we will have many events such as car exhibitions between Geneva and Doha, in addition to promoting investments in diverse sectors such as hospitality and real estate.