Qatar among lead nations in adopting business continuity plan

DOHA: Qatar has emerged as one of the leading countries in the world in terms of adopting the concept of business continuity, institutional flexibility and risk management, which has become increasingly important in recent years, noted the Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari in his speech yesterday.

The Minister’s speech was delivered by Yahya bin Saeed Al Nuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary, at the opening of the 2nd ‘Business Continuity and Resilience Conference’.

The Minister also noted that as a result of this, Qatar has been demonstrating great flexibility and ability to continue its growth over the past years despite the challenges it has witnessed at the regional and global levels.

The second edition of the high profile Conference was held under the patronage of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, at Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel.

The conference with a theme: “Towards a sustainable economy”, was graced with the presence of dignitaries, including H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada and many others.

Minister Al Kuwari said that the fast growing culture of adopting business continuity plan among Qatari companies is taking place at a time when developed countries have moved towards embedding these principles in their strategic plans and strategies aimed at ensuring the continuity of their enterprises and companies in the light of volatile global environment which may affect their domestic markets.

Qatar has placed the private sector on top of its national priorities, out of its belief in its pivotal role in immunizing the country from various geopolitical and economic risks and market volatility, especially after the unjust and illegal blockade imposed on Qatar on June 5, 2017 by Arab quartet.

Al Kuwari said that these initiatives are in line with the government’s efforts which has sought to speed up the implementation of measures at maintaining its economic growth and launching initiatives that promote the continuity of the business of private companies and institutions through supporting the national product and developing the local manufacturing companies and providing them with sophisticated industrial zones that meet all their needs.

He also mentioned about launching more public-private partnership projects and stimulate investment in non-oil sectors, including logistics, food and medicine, tourism and sports, among others to further enhance the contribution of non-oil sector to the country’s GDP.

The Minister also pointed out that in order to stimulate national companies to increase their productivity and enhance the competitiveness of industrial products in the markets the government has made it obligatory for all the government agencies and ministers to purchase local products up to 100 percent.

The Minister also mentioned about the robustness of the Qatari economy highlighting some of the macro-economic fundaments such as trade surplus, and improved balance of payment position and GDP growth. 23

On his part, Abdullatif Ali Al Yafei, Chairman of the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) Qatar Forum and Chairman of the Conference, said: “The risk management and business continuity of Qatar, especially in recent years, has become an integral part of the policy of companies operating in the country, and it has become a cornerstone for these companies to sustain their success and success in their plans to continue and expand their activities at home and abroad.”

Al Yafei noted that the world is full of opportunities, but it is also full of challenges, especially with the development of technology, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet, the Internet of Things, the spread of economic and financial crises, the spread of epidemics and natural and unnatural disasters.

So keeping in view the various types of risks, businesses need to be proactive and prepared to deal with unprecedented risks to keep their supply of goods and services uninterrupted.