2 June 2022, Doha— Qatar: The Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar) led a series of strategic business engagements, during its participation at Hannover Messe 2022, one of the largest trade fairs worldwide, as part of Qatar’s State delegation. IPA Qatar hosted in-person meetings with German and foreign investors, and an Invest Qatar seminar, which showcased avenues of business and investment growth potential between Qatar and Germany.

Leveraging Qatar’s position as a strategic hub on the world investment map, IPA Qatar’s participation aimed to promote the country’s promising business landscape, outlining its favourable investment environment, and the plethora of opportunities across sectors. Equally significant, IPA Qatar’s business meetings served in widening its network with potential investors, ranging from big corporations to SMEs and startups, in addition to further deepening the Agency’s footprint in the German market.

Representing Qatar’s investment cluster at Hannover Messe, IPA Qatar organised the Invest Qatar seminar, titled “The Future is Now: Qatar’s Avenues of Growth for International Companies”, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI), Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA), and Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP). As part of the seminar discussion, IPA Qatar’s Director of Investor Relations Jeroen Nijland highlighted the unique business journey that Qatar offers to investors, backed by an array of lucrative benefits and incentives, future-ready infrastructure, strategic connectivity, and business-friendly environment. He also shed light on potential investment opportunities for further mutually beneficial cooperation between Qatar and businesses across different sectors, including industrial technology, digital, and manufacturing among others.

Introducing potential investors to Qatar’s conducive business ecosystem, the seminar featured key speakers, representing different licensing platforms, including Walaa Amer, Engagement Manager, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP); Hamad Al-Mohannadi, Business Development Manager, Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA); and Hamad Al-Nasr, Senior Associate-Business Development, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).

Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani, CEO, IPA Qatar, said: “We are pleased to participate in Hannover Messe, and capitalise on the significant horizons of investment and business growth potential between the two nations. In this context, the Invest Qatar pavilion underpinned the significant national strides made to bolster Qatari industries and advance the technological transformation of the industrial sector, while showcasing the vast business opportunities in Qatar.”

Al-Thani added, “Having more than 300 German companies that have chosen Qatar as a second home for their business, and a record 79% increase of bilateral trade in 2021, signals the plentitude of promising avenues of growth for German businesses in Qatar.”

Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, Chief Executive Officer, QFC said: “We are glad to be part of Hannover Messe and discuss the potential investment opportunities to springboard growth in the country. Qatar offers the investment community an assurance of long-term economic stability backed by business-friendly policies, state-of-the-art infrastructure, a high peace index and a location strategically placed between the crossroads of the East and west. We are committed to building on Qatar’s robust and resilient market by offering firms, a world-class commercial, legal and regulatory environment that drives economic diversification.”

Yosouf Al-Salehi, Executive Director, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), commented: "Our partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar Financial Centre and IPA Qatar, as well as our presence at Hannover Messe, demonstrate our commitment to creating more investment opportunities in Qatar, by nurturing the country’s innovation ecosystem. At this event, we’ve really been able to showcase QSTP’s pivotal role in attracting regional and global technology companies to Qatar, and how this plays into the national drive to diversify Qatar’s economy. We offer the full idea-to-invention scope of support, expertise, and infrastructure necessary for innovation to thrive, and our Park & Free Zone is ideal for multinational corporations looking to expand into new markets develop their ground-breaking products in Qatar.”

Mr. Hamad Al Mohannadi, Business Development Manager at Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) said: “We are honored to take part in Qatar’s participation at Hannover Messe 2022 in Germany. QFZA had the opportunity from its participation at the global event, to demonstrate the outstanding opportunities and benefits that it offers for investing companies from Germany and other parts of the world, who are interested to establish their businesses in Qatar Free Zones and to expand regionally and globally. These benefits include; the quality infrastructure, skilled workforce, 100% foreign ownership, access to investment funds, tax exemptions and partnership opportunities with Qatari entities and private sector.”