PM meets with Qatar Chamber, Qatari Businessmen Association officials to discuss COVID-19 economic impact

QNADohaPrime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al Thani on Thursay met with officials of the Qatar Chamber and the Qatari Businessmen Association remotely through video conference.Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Ali bin Ahmed al Kuwari and Qatar Free Zones Authority's Chairman Ahmed bin Mohammed al Sayed also joined the meeting. They discussed economic and commercial impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), its effects on the private sector, and the solutions to overcome them.In the meeting, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior stressed on the directives of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, when His Highness presided over the meeting of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management on COVID-19 on March 15, on the importance of supporting the private sector and finding ways to increase its contribution in all fields to support economic development. Some of the ways were providing financial and economic stimulus to the private sector, represented in QR75 billion to support commercial banks' liquidity, the stock market, and Qatar Development Bank's guarantees program to support staff payroll-salaries and rental fees, in addition to exempting different sectors from water and electricity fees among other related measures. His Excellency discussed the possibility of having the private sector take advantage of the benefits provided by free zones, which include access to the main infrastructure and logistics services, in addition to tax and regulatory benefits among others.For their part, the businessmen thanked HH the Amir for the financial and economic stimulus provided to the private sector. They also thanked HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior for the meeting, stressing that they will support the state's various economic decisions. They added that they were ready to use all their capabilities to contribute to limiting the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic on the national economy.The meeting stressed on the importance of enhancing cooperation between the public and private sector constantly.