Business Luncheon with UK Delegation
Dr. Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani, Second Deputy Prime Qatari Businessmen Association, hosted a British senior delegation headed by HE Lord / Alderman Roger Gifford, who was elected in November 9, 2012 to serve as Mayor of the City of London, in the presence British Ambassador HE / Michael ONeill, along with his accompanying delegation that included Sherrif Jeffrey Evans, Colonel Billy King Harman in Sheikh Khalid Bin Thani Majles at Al Gharrafa, on Wednesday February 28th, 2013.
The event was attended by QBA board members Sheikh / Hamad bin Faisal Al Thani, Sheikh / Nawaf Bin Nasser Al Thani, Mr. / Sherida Saad Jubran Al Kaabi, and the distinguished members: Dr. Hussein Al-Abdullah, Mr. / Nabil Abu Issa, and Mr. / Maqbool Habib Khalfan, in addition to Mrs. Sarah Abdallah, QBA Deputy General Manager.
H.E. the Lord / Alderman Roger Gifford, began with thanking the host Dr. Sheikh Khalid and the QBA members for the warm welcome and explained the goal of his visit to Qatar which aims at discussing opportunities for enhancing trade cooperation and the development of bilateral relations for the benefit of both countries, and expressed the importance of the Qatari market for business and British companies, where increased investment opportunities with the giant development plan adopted by the State of Qatar, in addition to the main goal of developing the infrastructure and diversifying Qatars economy away from the oil and gas sector.
Dr. Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani welcomed the British delegation, and noted that the Qatari – British relations have strengthened significantly in recent years with the increase of Qatari investments in the UK.
In the end of the meeting, QBA members discussed with the British counterparts the need to take advantage of the rapid growth of Qatars economy and seize investment opportunities in the state, while considering the experiences of British companies, including the oil and gas related, which habe been present in the state effectively since decades.
It is worth mentioning that the Qatari-British relations witnessed rapid development, and an increase in bilateral investments between the two countries, where it is estimated that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries has reached 7 billion pounds during 6 months particularly between January and July 2012.
Moreover the Qatari investments in the UK have increased yearly, and amount around QR 124.5 billion as the State of Qatar owns several companies and investments in Britain, including stores "Harrods", and 26 percent of the shares of stores "Sainsbury". In addition, Qatar Investment Authority also owns 20 percent of the "Camden Market" in north London through its stake in the real estate investments company "Chelsfield", and 95 percent of the Shard Tower, which is the tallest building in Western Europe and is characterized by its strategic location overlooking the Thames River.