DOHA: A delegation from Cardiff Council visited Qatar yesterday to discuss trade and investment deals.
The visit follows on from discussions between Cardiff Council and UK Government Trade Commissioners about the importance of leading British cities seeking out opportunities across the world for trade and inward investment deals post Brexit.
The leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, who led the delegation, said: “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently predicted that 90 percent of economic growth will come from outside the EU. As the uncertainty around Brexit grows it’s vitally important that Cardiff, as the capital city of Wales, looks to encourage more trade and investment from overseas and from emerging markets.
“This trip gave us the chance to tell Cardiff’s story to key investors in Qatar. Our city is booming and there are fantastic opportunities for global companies to come and invest here. We want to make sure Cardiff is in a good position to capture some of this investment.
“We have a multi-million pounds portfolio of major projects in the pipeline. This is on top of the new business district in the city to the north and the south of Cardiff Central station. As part of my administration’s Capital Ambition programme we are also creating a new vision for Cardiff Bay as a major leisure destination and we have plans for a new multi-purpose arena in the Bay.
“So it’s important - despite Brexit - the world sees Cardiff as being open for business and we need to ensure that all of these big city projects and plans translate into economic prosperity whose benefits can be shared by everyone who lives here.”
Cardiff Council’s Chief Executive Paul Orders, its Director of Economic Development, Neil Hanratty and Head of Economic Development Ken Poole, and the Chair of Cardiff International Airport Roger Lewis, all joined Councillor Thomas in Doha.
The delegation will present a significant range of major investment opportunities in Cardiff to leading sovereign wealth funds and potential Qatari investors.
In May this year, Qatar Airlines set up a direct service from Cardiff to Doha and the new route is seen as a potential catalyst for creating business opportunities between the two cities. The airline has also been in discussions with the council and Welsh Government around developing a new 5-star hotel in the Welsh capital and the council hopes to progress this proposal during the visit.
The Doha visit, which has been facilitated by the UK Government and Welsh Government officials based at the British Embassy in Doha, included a presentation to four, leading financial institutions, among them the Qatar Investment Authority(QIA) - the core Sovereign Wealth Fund of Qatar.
Cllr Thomas said: “We had the opportunity not only to talk with the Qatar Investment Authority, but also to the Qatari Diar, which co-ordinates the country’s real estate development priorities. They have a large London-based portfolio and we are keen to show them some of the plans we have for Cardiff.”
