QNA
Paris
Qatar Chamber has participated in the 5th French-Arab Economic Summit, held under the patronage of President of the Republic of France, Emmanuel Macron, which was jointly organized by the Arab-French Chamber of Commerce, the Union of Arab Chambers, and the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME), with support from ICE-FRANCE, the International Chamber of Commerce-France, International Medef, and Business France.
The Chamber’s delegation participating in the summit was led by Chairperson Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani and included board member Dr Khaled bin Klefeekh Al Hajri.
The summit was attended by more than 400 high-level economic figures and featured three round tables held on a geographical basis as general working sessions: the first focused on the Maghreb countries, the second on the Arab Levant countries, and the third on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
On the margins of the summit, Sheikh Khalifa met with Director of the Office of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Aurelien Le Chevalier.
During the meeting, both sides discussed economic and trade relations between the two countries and explored ways to enhance cooperation between the Qatari private sector and its French counterpart, in addition to emphasizing the importance of fostering mutual investments and partnerships between the business sectors of both nations.
During a round table dedicated to the GCC countries, Dr Khaled bin Klefeekh Al Hajri reviewed a working paper highlighting Qatar’s successful hosting of the 2022 World Cup and its management of the post-World Cup phase, noting that Qatar recently launched the Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030, which aims to build a diversified, knowledge-based economy. He also pointed to the launch of the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Strategy (2024-2030) as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Hajri stated that the innovation strategy aims to position Qatar as a global leader in innovation and scientific research in the Middle East region, enhance the business sector’s involvement in innovative activities, develop qualified domestic talent, and increase the sector’s contribution to the state’s GDP.
He also highlighted the state’s efforts to advance innovation by fostering partnerships and cooperation with international technology leaders such as Microsoft, Google Cloud, NVIDIA, and others, as well as through the launch of 5G networks.
Hajri mentioned that Qatar ranked second globally in terms of the 5G speed and ranked first in terms of mobile internet speed.
Regarding investments, he stated that the country aims to attract $100 billion in direct investments across sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, education, financial services, food, agriculture, and healthcare. He added that the national economy is expected to grow by 4% annually until 2030, driven by the expansion of gas production.