Meeting with President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
The Qatari Businessmen Association held a meeting in honor of the visit of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, His Excellency Mr. Hamid Karzai and his accompanying delegation at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on March 30, 2013.
The meeting was attended by HE Sheikh / Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of Qatari Businessmen Association, Sheikh / Ali Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani, QBA member, Dr Sheikh / Khalid bin Thani Al Thani, Second Deputy Chairman of QBA, Mr. / Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari, Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Qatar, Dr Sheikh / Mohammed Bin Eid Al Thani, Chairman of Eid Charity, and distinguished qba members Dr. / Hussein Abdullah, Mr. / Nasser Rashid Sraiya Al Kaabi, Mr. / Abdul Hamid Moustafawi, Ms. / Sarah Abdullah Deputy General Manager of QBA.
HE Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani welcomed the visit of HE Mr. Hamid Karzai and his delegation which aims to discuss ways of trade cooperation and investment between the Qatari businessmen and their counterparts in the Afghanistan, expressing its importance in opening bridges and strengthening relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Afghanistan.
On his side, HE the President was pleased to convene this meeting and interview Qatari businessmen where he confirmed that his country is open to all Arab countries, including the State of Qatar. He stressed that his country has witnessed great development in all areas over the last ten years, rising per capita income of U.S. $ 180 to $ 1000.
He noted that Afghanistan is also one of the fastest growing countries in the telecommunications sector where more than 19 million Afghans use mobile phones. In addition, the banking sector has witnessed a rapid growth as well since the volume of deposits amounts to $ 4.5 billion at the end of 2012. Moreover, Afghanistan also witnessed an increased focus on increasing the rate of education as the number of school students has risen from 500,000 to 20 million school students during the last ten years, and more than 100,000 students have graduated this year to enroll in more than 20 universities.
On the other hand, HE Afghan President reviewed the available opportunities welcoming the Qatari investments in the various sectors that are characterized with the fast massive returns, including the transport sector, infrastructure, power generation sector, electricity, banking sector, the tourism and hotel sector, natural resource extraction and exploration of oil and gas.
Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim expressed the interest of Qatari businessmen to take advantage of the investment opportunities available in Afghanistan and the establishment of projects in various sectors, particularly transport and construction of roads and bridges, and securing construction materials such as cement, electricity generation, and the development of the tourism and hotel sector.
In addition Sheikh Ali Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani and Dr. Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani suggested forming a delegation of Qatari businessmen to visit Afghanistan and the search for investment opportunities closely and then send a group of experts to study the business and begin implementing the proposed projects.
At the end of this meeting HE the President of Afghanistan thanked QBA for the warm welcome, and invited the audience to visit his country and identify the investment environment closely.
It is worth mentioning that Afghanistan is considered one of the richest countries in the world due to the abundance of natural resources, that are estimated to amount more than 13 trillion U.S. dollars, including coal, copper, lithium, uranium and rare earth elements including gold and zinc, marble, precious and semi-precious stones, natural gas, and petroleum.