HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassem bin Mohammed Al Thani (left), Minister of Economy and Commerce, with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, in Washington DC, US, yesterday.
DOHA: HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani Minister of Economy and Commerce, yesterday met with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and US Secretary of Commerce Willbur Ross in separate meetings, on the sidelines of the Qatari-US Strategic Dialogue in Washington.
The two meetings dealt with reviewing economic and investment ties and the means to advance them, in addition to discussing the outcomes of the session on enhancing commerce and investment in the Qatari-US dialogue session, QNA reported.
For his part, the US Secretary of Commerce praised the performance of the Qatari economy and expressed his satisfaction of the American companies there. He also highlighted the performance of Qatari investments, which helped create jobs for American citizens.
The Minister also met with Assistant United States Trade Representative Dan Mullaney on the sidelines of the strategic dialogue. They discussed the outcomes of the latest talks between the United States-Qatar Council on Trade and Investment (TIFA). They also discussed the latest Memorandums of Understanding and reviewed facets of cooperation in different sectors. The Minister invited the American side to hold the next meeting in Doha, which will take place before the end of the current year. He also met with President of the US-Qatar Business Council Anne Patterson. The American side presented the council’s plan for the next five years.
Sheikh Ahmed also chaired a session on enhancing investment and commerceon the sidelines of the strategic dialogue, yesterday. He discussed ways to increase trade volume between the two sides and lift challenges facing investments in the two countries. The two sides also discussed the incentives offered by Qatar to attract foreign investments.
The Minister stressed on the strength of the historical ties between Qatar and the US and noted that the two sides signed a commerce and investment agreement in 2004 in order to expand cooperation. He also highlighted that the strategic dialogue was an important step to enhancing ties further.
Qatar and the US have strong investment and commerce ties in the field of oil and gas. Trade volume for 2017 reached $6bn. There are a total of 102 companies 100 percent America companies in Qatar, compared to 505 other companies that are in partnership with a Qatari side. There are also 40 companies that are licensed and work under the umbrella of Qatar Financial Center.
