Doha Bank Q P S C : Qatar and UK Intend to Accelerate their Bilateral Relationships

Qatar and UK Intend to Accelerate their Bilateral Relationships

Doha Bank hosted a webinar on 9th September 2020 on the theme 'Bilateral and Synergistic Opportunities between Qatar and UK'. It saw participation from H.E Jon Wilks, Her Majesty's Ambassador to the State of Qatar. Ms. Jinoos Shariati, Director of Trade and Investment, British Embassy Doha, Mr. Bendar Renda, Chief Executive Officer & Secretary General, Arab British Chamber of Commerce UK and Eng. Nasser Al Ansari, Chairman, Just Real Estate also joined. Dr. R. Seetharaman, Doha Bank CEO welcomed the guests.

Jon Wilks, Her Majesty's Ambassador to the State of Qatar, spoke at the webinar. He said that he had taken up his post in Doha in early March, a week before lockdown. Nevertheless trade and investment discussions had not stopped. Both countries were committed to doing more. Political dialogue was strong up to the highest levels. The UK had been very grateful to Qatar Airways for its flexibility in helping repatriate many thousands of UK tourists and travellers during the spring and summer. Relations between UK and Qatar were historic, but had developed particularly strongly in the last decade. And the future looked promising. Bilateral trade is £7 billion 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. 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. People to people relations are strong including over 20000 UK nationals living in Qatar, the second largest British community in the region.

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

The Ambassador congratulated Qatar on its successful response to COVID 19 and its resilience in absorbing the economic shock it created, 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 in the run up to that. The Ambassador summed up saying, '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'.

Ms. Jinoos Shariati, Director of Trade and Investment, British Embassy Doha, spoke on 'New Trade Opportunities and FDI initiatives' She gave insights into 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 Qatar Financial Centre and Qatar Free Zone. Fintech companies can now register at QFC, and Qatar Free Zone attracts foreign investment and provides various incentives for investors. 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. She also provided and overview of the impact on Qatar of COVID-19.

Mr. Bendar Renda, Chief Executive Officer & Secretary General, Arab-British Chamber of Commerce UK spoke on 'The Role of the ABCC and Opportunities Post Pandemic and Brexit'. He gave insight on the history of the Arab-British 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, Just Real Estate, spoke on 'Opportunities in real estate'. He stated that Qatar is not building for just one event - the FIFA World Cup 2022. He also highlighted the pillars of QNV 2030 in relation to property development and sustainability of the Qatar's Property market. The quality of life in Qatar had improved and more people are expected to arrive in the coming years. Privatization and infrastructure development will further boost Qatar's property sector. The Economic Zones will also contribute to demand for Qatar's property development. Qataris consider London as a second home and invest in properties across UK. He highlighted the major investment projects of Qatar in the UK and also gave insight on the benefits of owning property in Qatar.

Dr. R. Seetharaman highlighted the challenges faced by the global economy due to COVID-19. Various central banks across the globe, including US Federal Reserve 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%. The growth is expected to contract in both advanced and emerging economies. He emphasized that we should take efforts to come back to normalcy. COVID-19 would be an opportunity. He highlighted on key developments in Qatar, including the airport, investment programme, SME sector development, food security, investment law, new property law and PPP law. The UK economy had launched £30bn spending plan to fight COVID-19. Qatar-UK trade was more than £7bn in 2020. Qatari investments in UK exceed £35bn. Major investments include Harrods, Sainsbury and The Shard skyscraper. SMEs in the UK should explore partnerships with Qatar. Qatar Gas and Petronas UK signed a new 5-year LNG sale and purchase agreement in 2016. In 2017, the Qatar-UK Business and Investment Forum was held in the UK. In 2018, an MOU between QCB and the UK was also signed. QFC has more than 60 UK firms. Opportunities could also be explored in the fintech sector.