Qatar-UK joint cmte. meets in Doha

DOHA, Feb 1 (KUKA) -- The Qatar-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee held its fourth meeting on Sunday in Doha under the co-chairmanship of Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs Dr. Ahmad bin Mohammad Al Sayed and Minister of State for Trade Policy in the UK Department for Business and Trade Sir Chris Bryant.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Ahmad said the meeting reflects the shared desire to continue strengthening the bilateral economic relations in a way that serves mutual interests and keeps pace with global economic changes. The Qatari-British relations have witnessed continuous development that has established a solid strategic partnership in the fields of trade and investment, a statement, issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and carried by Qatar News Agency (QNA), quoted him as saying. The minister of state indicated that Qatari investments in the UN have exceeded GBP 40 billion, while the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached around GBP 1.7 billion in 2024, which confirms the United Kingdom's position as a major trading partner for the State of Qatar.
He also noted that foreign direct investment flows from the UK to Qatar reached more than GBP 6 billion during 2017 to 2024, which reflects the confidence of British investors in the attractive investment environment in Qatar, where more than 600 British companies operating in Qatar's market.
He stressed Qatar's keenness to reach a free trade agreement between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which would contribute to enhancing market access and developing cooperation in the areas of digital trade, customs cooperation, and the movement of services.
He voiced Qatar's aspiration to deepen cooperation with the UK in the areas of finance, digitalization and innovation, by enhancing institutional integration between the Qatari single window and the British single trade window, in addition to cooperation in the areas of green growth and climate technology, within the framework of Qatar's investment of one billion pounds sterling in this field within the UK.
The two sides discussed the progress made in implementing the recommendations of the 3rd meeting of the committee, current projects and plans for their expansion, as well as reviewing a number of topics related to strengthening cooperation in various fields, including industry, environment, agriculture, transportation, health, education, science, and technology.
Both sides agreed to take the necessary steps to move forward with the approach of strengthening trade and investment cooperation with the aim of increasing the volume of trade exchange and facilitating the flow of goods, services and investments, the statement added. (end) sss.gb