The Qatari Businessmen Association discusses investment opportunities with the US Assistant Secretary of Commerce
Venkataraman: Qatar is a strategic and commercial partner to the US
Sheikh Faisal: The volume of trade reached new record between the two countries and the Qatari market welcomes American companies.
The Qatari Businessmen Association met with His Excellency Mr. Arun Venkataraman, US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for global markets, where they discussed investment and trade opportunities between the two countries.
From the Qatari Businessmen Association, the meeting was attended by His Excellency Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, QBA Chairman, and QBA members: Mr. Salah Al Jaidah, Mr. Yousef Al Mahmoud, and Mr. Ihsan Al Khiyami, in addition to Ms. Sarah Abdullah, QBA Deputy GM
At the beginning of the meeting, H.E. Mr. Aaron Venkatraman said that Qatar is a strategic and commercial partner to the US, and we seek more cooperation with the Qatari Companies in the various sectors, and we also encourage American companies to explore the Qatari market.
Venkataraman also stated that there are many projects in infrastructure, technology, and the service sectors in which the US and Qatar can cooperate, in response to Qatar Vision 2030, which aims at diversifying the Qatari economy away from the energy sector, pointing out at the same time to the great investment opportunities that exist within the different states in the US, saying that his team is fully prepared to provide all information about each state with the aim of facilitating cooperation and trade exchange.
For his part, His Excellency Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatari Businessmen Association, explained that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries has reached its peak, reaching about $6.7 billion in 2022, and it is continuing to rise during this year, as the volume of trade between the two countries reached $5.55 billion during the first nine months of 2023 and could be a record by the end of this year, which confirms that the Qatari market is important and full of diversified opportunities that require American companies to explore them, and that QBA and the Qatari business community are ready to work together to further develop this economic partnership between the two countries.
During the meeting, Mr. Salah Al-Jaidah, QBA member, pointed out that the Qatari private sector has reached a stage of maturity that enables it to cooperate and invest jointly with American companies, noting that the world today is talking about artificial intelligence, which is an important sector, and the Qatari businessmen has great interest in this field in the United States of America due to its great potential and the progress it has achieved.
It is worth noting that the total direct Qatari investments in the United States amounted to about 69 billion dollars, and that American companies operating in the State of Qatar contribute mainly to the development witnessed by the country, especially in light of the presence of 850 American companies operating in the Qatari market in various sectors, including technology, Sports, financial technology, construction, engineering, medicine, scientific research and other fields.