Minister of Commerce and Industry, H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari said yesterday that Qatar’s industrial sector has witnessed remarkable growth coinciding with the progress made in the projects of developing the SMEs industrial zone. The total number of factories in 2020 amounted to 927, recording a 6 percent increase compared to 2019. The total volume of investments in the industrial sector in 2020 amounted to approximately QR263bn, showing a growth rate of 0.4 percent compared to 2019, said the Minister delivering a lecture at the Joaan bin Jassim Joint Command and Staff College, on the role of the national economy in supporting defense efforts. Al Kuwari affirmed that the directives of the wise leadership contributed to laying down the main pillars that define the priorities and future prospects supporting the national economy, indicating that Qatar has succeeded in continuing to implement its economic policies despite the geopolitical changes.
The lecture covered a number of topics, including the challenges that faced the state over the past few years such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the efforts made to achieve a comprehensive renaissance. The lecture was attended by H E Lt General (Pilot) Ghanem bin Shaheen Al Ghanim, the Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces, and a number of Qatar Armed Forces officers and senior employees from various Ministries and institutions taking part in the National Defense Course. The Minister highlighted the state’s economic diversification policy. He noted that other policies included enhancing the participation of the private sector, growing local industries and exports, attracting investment in the non-hydrocarbon field, which contributed to 62 percent of real GDP during the second quarter of 2020.
The Minister shed light on the legislation put in place by Qatar to attract and encourage investment, including the law regulating the Public-Private Partnership, which contributed to enhancing investment prospects in the country and providing the appropriate legislative framework to improve governance, risk management, and enhance competition and innovation. He said this law provided investors with the opportunity to finance, develop, and operate projects in a variety of priority sectors, including food security, sports, tourism, health, education, and logistics. In this regard, he spoke of signing the government schools package contract (establishing eight schools), and launching the tourist resorts project, spanning an area exceeding 450,000 square meters.
The Minister touched on the most prominent features of the law regulating the investment of non-Qatari capital in economic activity, and the initiative to establish the Investment Promotion Agency. In the field of developing the business environment, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been keen to complete the digital transformation process and improve government services provided to speed up procedures, he said. In this regard, electronic services provided by the Ministry have been developed through its website, mobile application, and the Single Window platform, which in turn provides a number of vital services, such as establishing businesses and factories, issuing tax cards, as well as the electronic signature system. Electronic procedures made through the Single Window platform witnessed a 56 percent growth in 2020, compared to 2019, and the percentage of digital transformation amounted to 62 percent, an increase of 22 percent compared to 2019.
On the initiatives aimed at establishing integrated mechanisms to enhance and increase Qatar’s strategic stock, he referred to Law No. (24) of 2019 on Regulating and Managing the Strategic Stock of Food and Consumer Goods, aimed at regulating dealing in basic commodities, and establishing a system for managing and monitoring production, import, supply, circulation, and storage. At the end of the lecture, Major General Fahd bin Mubarak Al Khayarin, presented H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari with the College’s memorial shield.
