28 March 2022, Doha – Qatar: The Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar) and Business France jointly announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today. The agreement will facilitate the expansion of Business France’s office in Qatar and aims to strengthen relations and boost cooperation between the two parties by setting the foundation for institutional collaboration.

The agreement, which follows a letter of intent signed in February 2020, underlines the two entities’ commitment to further broaden their partnership and facilitate the exchange of professional expertise, market information and research with regards to foreign direct investment promotion and attraction. Additionally, the MoU will entail joint business initiatives in marketing, investors facilitation and retention, and policy analyses, among other areas.

The ceremony was attended by Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani, Chief Executive Officer, IPA Qatar and Pascal Cagni, Chairman of the board of Business France.

Commenting on the new partnership, Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani, CEO, IPA Qatar, said: “We are pleased to sign this landmark agreement with Business France, which contributes to further strengthening the bilateral relations between Qatar and France. I am confident that this partnership will be another pivotal step towards increasing the presence of French businesses in Qatar, which currently count for more than 400 companies, operating across a wide range of industries. Equally significant, this agreement complements our efforts in fostering innovation and technology in our business environment, in addition to nurturing high-skilled talent and supporting the exchange of expertise and knowledge.”

Marie-Cécile Tardieu, COO of Business France, said: “With this agreement, Business France and IPA Qatar are deepening their constructive collaboration in a peer-to-peer spirit and mutual benefit. It reflects the strong and shared willingness to engage in an ambitious programme of cooperation through experience and intelligence sharing between the two agencies.”

Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship

Backed by its investment in a vibrant knowledge based economy, Qatar is rapidly transforming into a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, where a promising outlook builds on a strong economic foundation and creates a wealth of opportunities for investors. With immense investments into developing state-of-the-art educational infrastructure, research programmes and business excellence, Qatar proudly is home to a higher innovation capability, and a true destination for the world’s best and brightest talent.

Thanks to its open economy and investor-friendly climate, international companies can become part of a knowledge-based economy, where they can cultivate their people with world-class education, training, and research. Equally significant, this conducive environment paves the way for strategic collaboration between renowned organisations, such as Business France. The French Agency, which is positioned as a powerful platform to speed up the growth of high-potential French startups harboring international ambitions, supports 10,000 SMEs and mid-size companies every year through its various solutions. Business France has 150 investment advisors, in addition to 1,500 personnel, both in France and in 70 countries throughout the world, who work with a network of public- and private-sector partners. Given the IPA Qatar and Business France’s common goals, pertaining to investment promotion and facilitation in their jurisdiction, Qatar represents the right destination for Business France to further widen its international network.

Expanding business horizons

Strategically located at the gateway between East and West, Qatar represents a dynamic launchpad for businesses to engage customers across the World, having strong connections to markets in Africa and Asia, and investment protection ties with many countries around the world, including the EU and China. The country is constantly expanding the opportunities for international companies looking to establish their presence in, or extend their reach to, Qatar and the region. This is made possible through future-ready digital and physical infrastructure, a supportive business environment, and a young and highly educated talent pool that together form the most empowering and business-friendly climate in the region.

As the custodian of the Invest Qatar brand, IPA Qatar acts as a gateway to all investment solutions in Qatar, representing the single point of contact on a national level to network with international organisations, offering them world class support to set up their businesses in Qatar. Since its inception, IPA Qatar has been actively engaging with local, regional, and international business communities, embarking on significant partnerships. The most recent in 2021 include German Federal Association for SMEs (BVMW), Credit Suisse, and Intesa San Paolo, among others. In this context, and given the mutual interest and goals, the cooperation with Business France comes as a natural extension to explore new horizons of knowledge, expertise, and best practices, in addition to setting the framework for potential business expansion.