Q Life Magazine Q Magazine: A new chapter for growth | Page 10

“We look forward to doing business together”, says His Excellency the Prime Minister of Qatar His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the State of Qatar, highlights Qatar’s growing economy. I am delighted to welcome you to the 2018 Qatar- Germany Business and Investment Forum. I look forward to meeting many of you personally in the following days, and to sharing ideas and experiences. The Forum will seek to open new markets for our nations, showcasing the best of our economies and furthering the partnership between us. We have much to give, and much to learn. Being open to new ideas is of course critical to business success. For our part, I am pleased to say that Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. We are ranked second most competitive in the Arab world, and GDP growth is expected to reach 2.8% this year, according to figures published by the Word Bank. The Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC) announced a record growth in 2017, posting a 66% increase in new firms being licensed year-on-year. Foreign trade growth was up 16% last year. We proactively work to create the best environment possible for foreign investors, amending laws to encourage unrestricted growth. The inauguration of 10 Hamad Port last year is a tangible example of a dramatic improvement in cross-border trading, by facilitating imports and exports. While valuing traditional trade, we are also looking towards the future. Qatar’s e-commerce market is expected to almost triple to about € 2.8 billion by 2020. We are working on the new challenges around this industry in terms of trust, availability and price. Economic diversification is one of Qatar’s major strategic priorities, and we are looking to increase the share of the private sector in the economy, grow the knowledge economy, and enhance productivity levels. Manufacturing, financial services, tourism, logistics, and information and communications have been identified as the sectors which have the largest potential to contribute to economic diversifica ѥ)$ЁѡЁѡ͔ѥѥٕ̰䁽ѡ̰)ݥѥՔѼ܁́ѼхЁѡɕ)مѥٔɸͥ́ɥхѕ)٥ɽи(