Confindustria Visit to QBA
The Qatari Businessmen Association organized a meeting with Confindustria, the Italian industrial and business association in QBA offices, in light of the Qatari Italian Business forum, that was held on March 20th, where Qatari companies, businessmen and investors participated along with around 55 Italian companies representing the infrastructure, construction, real estate sectors, and sports infrastructure companies. The meeting was attended by Shiekh Faisal Bin Qassem Al Thani, chairman of Qatar Businessmen Association, and from the Italian side, Mr. Cesare Trevisani, vice president of Confindustria, along with the accompanying delegation.
Mr. Trevisani introduced Confindustria as the biggest industrial and business association in Italy and Europe, since it includes 150,000 small, medium and large enterprises, along with a segment for young Italian entrepreneurs whose ages do not exceed 40 years. Mr. Trevisani also thanked Shiekh Faisal for the association’s efforts to accomplish the goals of the Qatari Italian Business forum.
On the other side, Shiekh Faisal welcomed his guest Mr. Trevisani, and spoke about the history of economic relations between the countries, where Italy is considered the second largest importer between the European countries, which reflects the market’s trust in the high quality Italian goods; Qatar imports electrical machines, metals, and transport equipment.
In addition, Shiekh Faisal also reviewed the investment incentives in Qatar, which include the low cost of energy and electricity, low tax regulations that do not exceed 10% for foreign investors, as well as the existence of development projects and investment opportunities. The chairman of the Association hoped to strengthen economic relations in various fields between the two countries. Qatari companies can also benefit from the experience of their counterparts in the implementation of Qatari development projects in preparation for hosting the 2022 World Cup.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Cesare invited Sheikh Faisal to visit Italy, and host a Qatari-Italian forum in the Italian capital, Rome, in order to introduce the Qatari companies to the business and investment opportunities in Italy and provide them with a platform to network and interact with their counterparts.
In response to this invitation, and since QBA encourages the participation of the young generation in the economy in line of Qatar National Vision 2030, Sheikh Faisal suggested organizing a joint delegation comprising of members of the Association and young Qatari entrepreneurs, so as to familiarize them with business opportunities in Italy, and to meet with their counterparts from young Italians. The Association also sponsors the Entrepreneurs Organization in Qatar, which is a dynamic and global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries, whose aim is to build the world’s most influential community of entrepreneurs and engage them to learn and grow.
It is worth mentioning, that Italy is a popular touristic destination for Qataris, especially since it embraces artistic and historical archaeological sites that consist of more than 64 % of the world’s treasures and history of human civilizations. Qatar has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Italy in March 2010, to develop the tourism sectors of both countries, through encouraging the public and private investments in touristic sectors and enhancing the cooperation between the travel agencies and tourism offices of both countries.