The Minister of Economy and Commerce, H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, yesterday met with Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry, Dr Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed. Both the leaders discussed ways of deepening and expanding bilateral ties in the fields of economic, trade and investment.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Qatar-Malaysia Economic Forum in Kuala Lumpur. The event coincides with the visit of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s to Malaysia.
Sheikh Ahmed underscored the friendly Qatari-Malaysian ties, which he said represent an important platform to develop successful economic and trade partnerships that will benefit the economies of both countries and bolster their development.
The Qatar-Malaysia Economic Forum sought to promote Qatari-Malaysian trade and economic ties, and presented a prime opportunity for exchanging ideas and discussing topics of mutual interests for each nation’s private sector.
On the sidelines of the Forum, the Minister of Economy and Commerce attended signing of MoU and Memorandum of Agreement between Qatar Chamber and National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia on the establishment of a joint business council and the diversification of commercial exchanges and economic cooperation between Qatar and Malaysia.
Malaysia is Qatar’s 20th largest trade partner with a total volume of bilateral trade at QR3.3bn ($904m) worth of traded goods in 2016, the equivalent of 2.85 percent of Qatar’s total trade exchange around the world. The event brought together more than 300 senior Qatari and Malaysian government officials, chief executives, investors, businessmen, economic committees and experts.
The forum featured bilateral meetings between Qatari and Malaysian businessmen to review investment opportunities in both countries and establish joint ventures.
Attendees gained insight into investment opportunities across various sectors, such as the trade, agriculture, tourism, and industry as well as other economic fields in both the countries.
The forum brought together Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber and his Malaysian counterpart Rizal Faris bin Mohideen Abdul Kader.
Sheikh Khalifa said: “The political and economic relations between Qatar and Malaysia have gathered real momentum in recent years, as the two countries are important trade partners for each other.” He added: “They exerted great efforts for removing all obstacles facing the establishment of joint investments, and offering incentives to attract investors and help develop business relations for the benefit of both countries’ economies.” The forum also hosted three workshops. The first one touched on Challenges, Opportunities for Joint Projects and Investment in Qatar, which were the focus of discussions participated by Nabeel Mohammed Al Bouainain, CEO of Qatari Diar; Hamad Al Mulla, CEO of Katara Hospitality; Mohamed Al Sada, CEO of Hassad Food; and Khalid Al Mana, Executive Director of Qatar Development Bank.
The second workshop focused on transportation, the FIFA 2022 World Cup Qatar, Programme Delivery, Challenges and Opportunities for Qatari-Malaysian Cooperation, and Qatar’s Challenges in the Energy Sector.
The workshop was attended by Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi, CEO of Manateq Company; Ghanim Al Kuwari, Competition Venues Executive Director of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy; Sheikh Meshal bin Jabor Al Thani, Director of Energy Affairs at Ministry of Energy & Industry; and Abdulaziz Al Yafei, Director of Hamad Port.
The third workshop, which brought together senior Malaysian officials, touched on investment opportunities in Malaysia.
The forum also featured B2B meetings between businessmen from both countries to discuss investments opportunities, as well as measures to bolster long-term economic cooperation so as to enable Qatari companies to draw lessons from their Malaysian counterparts’ success.
The forum strengthened efforts to sign new agreements and MoUs to capitalise on these strong bilateral relations and create new investment opportunities of interest to both countries.
