Qatar, UK to strengthen relations further: Ambassador

Doha: Qatar and the UK are committed to accelerate the bilateral relationship between the two countries, British Ambassador Jon Wilks has said during the webinar on ‘Bilateral and Synergistic Opportunities between Qatar and UK’ which was hosted by Doha Bank recently. 

During the event, Wilks said the UK had been very grateful to Qatar Airways for its flexibility in helping repatriate thousands of UK tourists and travellers during the spring and summer. 

He added that relations between UK and Qatar were historic, but had developed particularly strongly in the last decade. 

“Bilateral trade is £7bn a year and growing. The UK buys more LNG from Qatar and is exporting more to Qatar than ever before. Qatar is the third largest market for the UK in the region and the GCC as a whole is the third largest trading market for the UK after the EU and the US. The UK is committed to an ambitious partnership with Qatar to deliver a safe and successful World Cup in 2022, leaving a positive legacy for Qatar and the region,” he added. 

Qatar is estimated to have invested more than £35bn in the UK and is looking beyond London and the South East. Qataris meanwhile look to the UK for their summer holidays, property investments, healthcare and education. The country also sees Brexit as an opportunity as the UK focuses on markets beyond Europe, including the possibility of enhanced trade dialogues with the GCC, said Wilks. 

The Ambassador also congratulated Qatar on its successful response to COVID 19, as well as its recent strengthening of Labour laws protecting migrant worker rights.  The Ambassador finished by highlighting the UK’s hosting at the end of 2021 of the next big international conference on tackling climate change (COP 26) and looked forward to Qatari partnership on this issue. 

“The history of UK, Qatar relations is deep, and the future is promising, but in the here and now we are excited about doing more business with Qatar in the year ahead,” he added.  

Jinoos Shariati, Director of Trade and Investment at the British Embassy in Doha, spoke on the “New Trade Opportunities and FDI initiatives” where she gave insights on the role of the Department of International Trade in Doha, Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030, and Qatar’s business environment. 

She highlighted the roles of the Qatar Financial Centre and Qatar Free Zone Authority. She also updated on the current priorities of the Department of International Trade, which include Sports, Defence, Security and Cyber, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Tech and Smart Cities, and Food Security. Bendar Renda, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce in the UK, spoke on the “Opportunities Post Pandemic and Brexit”. 

He gave insight on the history of the ArabBritish Chamber of Commerce, their strategic partners, services and opportunities in Qatar post-Brexit, such as FIFA World Cup 2022, FDI, and Industrial Zones. Eng. Nasser Al Ansari, Chairman of Just Real Estate, spoke on “Opportunities in real estate”. 

He said Qatar is not building for just one event, the FIFA World Cup 2022, but also for the QNV 2030 in relation to property development and sustainability of Qatar’s property market. 

He said privatisation and infrastructure development will further boost Qatar’s property sector, and added that the Economic Zones will also contribute to the demand for Qatar’s property development.  

Also speaking during the event, Doha Bank CEO Dr R Seetharaman, highlighted the challenges faced by the global economy due to COVID-19. He said various central banks across the globe, including the US Fed and Bank of England had taken rate cuts due to COVID-19. 

“According to the IMF in June 2020, global growth was expected to contract by 4.9 percent. The growth is expected to contract in both advanced and emerging economies. We should take efforts to come back to normalcy. COVID-19 would be an opportunity,” he added. 

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