Satyendra Pathak
Doha
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) and Qatar Development Bank launched the first edition of the 2024 Government Procurement Plan Forum in Lusail on Sunday.
The four-day forum, which will continue till October 2, was launched in the presence of Minister of Finance HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar Chamber Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani, Public Works Authority Chairman Saad bin Ahmed Al Muhannadi and Qatar Development Bank CEO Abdulrahman Hisham Al Suwaidi.
The organisation of this forum comes within the framework of Qatar’s endeavour and keenness to strengthen initiatives aimed at providing a stimulating environment for the work and growth of local companies, as it aims to attract private sector companies, entrepreneurs, investors, owners of multi-level companies, and economic institutions.
During the forum, state agencies unveiled several development projects that serve multiple areas such as technology projects, existing and new land development projects, road improvement, connectivity and sanitation projects.
The forum is based on presenting the general plan for government procurement for the year 2024 in order to evaluate the work and expected needs, in addition to discussing many working papers presented by the cooperating parties.
The working papers discuss framework contracts and their role in supporting local industry, the factory guide, governance, risk management, and compliance, in addition to presenting the Qatar Development Bank’sguide for small and medium-sized companies.
Qatar Chamber’s delegation at the forum was presided over by its Sheikh Khalifa and included board members Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Obaidli, Abdulrahman bin Abdulla Al Ansari, and Shaheen bin Mohamed Al Mohannadi.
In a statement issued on the occasion, Sheikh Khalifa said that the forum serves as an important platform for SMEs to get acquainted with government purchases and offers an opportunity for cooperation with government agencies in accessing their tenders, noting that the Chamber provides full support to SMEs to facilitate their access into government tenders and contracts.
Praising the forum, he stated that it provides the opportunity for SMEs to engage directly with government ministries and bodies to learn about their procurement plans for the upcoming year.
Speaking at the forum, Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Obaidli underscored the importance of facilitating the private sector’s involvement in government procurement, stressing that facilitating the entry of SMEs and micro-enterprises into government tenders and contracts constitutes a means of supporting and stimulating local industry for production, diversification, development, and marketing of products both domestically and internationally.
Director of the National Product Competitiveness Support Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Saif Jassim Al Kuwari addressed framework contracts and their role in supporting local industry, stressing that national industries are at the top of the country’s development priorities as they represent a key pillar in the advancement of the national economy and an important element for achieving the country’s self-sufficiency and building the future of generations to come in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.
Qatar, he said, is witnessing a noticeable increase in the number of factories operating in the country, with their number today reaching more than 806 factories. Over the past years, they have realized many achievements contributing to the support of local products and the localisation of supply chains, he added.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, represented by the National Product Competitiveness Support Department, has consolidated aspects of cooperation with the relevant authorities in the country in order to protect and support local products, and has succeeded in building a close partnership with the Ministry of Finance, especially the Government Procurement Department, with the aim of unifying efforts in the field of supporting government procurement of national factory products in order to achieve self-sufficiency for products of strategic importance such as food and pharmaceuticals, he noted.
In conjunction with these steps and in order to protect local products from various illegal economic practices, a committee to support the competitiveness of national products against harmful practices was established, and its executive regulations were issued in 2022, Al Kuwari explained.
This committee is responsible for taking preventive measures and confronting any foreign practices aimed at expanding the Qatari market at the expense of the national product and flooding the local markets, he said.
The Director of the National Product Competitiveness Support Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the forum represents a pioneering national platform for exploring future prospects and plans for government procurement, and highlights the state’s efforts to support the national product and expand its scope to be a major tributary of the national economy.
He pointed out that the participation of MoCI in this meeting is evidence of its commitment to activating the economic role of national industries and Qatari companies and consolidating the principles of true partnership between the government and private sectors in a way that supports the strength of the nationaleconomy.
