HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Thani, Qatar’s Minister of Economy and Commerce, participated in the Qatari-Malaysian Economic Forum on Monday, October 16 in Kuala Lumpur. The forum, which was organized by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce in cooperation with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Malaysia, comes within the framework of H.H. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s visit to Malaysia.
The forum brought together HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber and his counterpart Mr Rizal Faris bin Mohideen Abdul Kader President, Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (MCCM) & Vice President, National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM), along with more than 300 businessmen, investors, government officials, company executives, economic bodies and experts. Attendees gained insight into investment opportunities across various sectors, such as the trade, agriculture, tourism, and industry as well as other economic fields in both countries.
The forum sought to promote and expand Qatari-Malaysian trade and economic ties, and presented a prime opportunity for exchanging ideas and discussing potential joint investment ventures.
In a statement on the sidelines of the forum, HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassem bin Mohammed Al-Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce, said the event provided an important platform to strengthen trade, economic and investment relations between Qatar and Malaysia and created partnership opportunities in various fields for the private sectors of both countries.
H.E. Sheikh Ahmed also underscored the friendly Qatari-Malaysian ties, which he said represent an important platform to develop successful economic and trade partnerships that will benefit the economies of both countries and bolster their development.
The Minister stressed the importance of outlining effective mechanisms and plans that align with Qatari-Malaysian investment objectives, and provide an opportunity for the development of successful projects in the interest of both countries and their people. Sheikh Ahmed added that Qatar represents an attractive destination for foreign investments thanks to its well-planned economic policies that have contributed to the development of a promising investment environment supported by a business-friendly legislative and administrative framework.
H.E. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber, said: “The political and economic relations between Qatar and Malaysia have gathered real momentum in recent years, as the two countries are important trade partners for each other. They exerted great efforts for removing all obstacles facing the establishment of joint investments, and offering incentives to attract investors and help develop business relations for the benefit of both countries’ economies.”
The forum hosted three workshops. The first touched on Qatar Challenges, Opportunities for Joint Projects and Investment which were the focus of discussions between Mr. Nabeel Mohammed Al-Bouainain, CEO of Qatari Diar; Mr. Hamad Al Mulla, CEO of  Katara Hospitality; Mr. Mohamed Al Sada, CEO of Hassad Food; and Mr. Khalid Al Mana, Executive Director of Qatar Development Bank (QDB).
The second workshop touched on transportation, the FIFA 2022 World Cup Qatar, Program Delivery, Challenges and Opportunities for Qatari-Malaysian Cooperation, and Qatar’s Challenges in the Energy Sector.
The workshop was attended by Mr Fahad Rashid al Kaabi, CEO of Manateq Company; Eng. Ghanim Al Kuwari, Competition Venues Executive Director of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy;  Sheikh Meshal bin Jabor Al-Thani, Director of Energy Affairs at Ministry of Energy & Industry; and Mr Abdulaziz Al Yafei, Director of Hamad Port.
 
The third workshop, which brought together senior Malaysian officials, touched on investment opportunities in Malaysia.
The forum also featured B2B meetings between businessmen from both countries to discuss investments opportunities, as well as measures to bolster long-term economic cooperation so as to enable Qatari companies to draw lessons from their Malaysian counterparts’ success.
The forum built on Qatar’s long history of friendly relations with Malaysia to bolster commercial and investment ties between the two countries. Today, Malaysia ranks as Qatar’s 20th largest trade partner with a total of 3.3 billion Qatari riyals ($904 million) worth of traded goods in 2016, the equivalent of 2.85% of Qatar’s total trade exchange around the world.
The forum strengthened efforts to sign new agreements and memorandums of understanding to capitalize on these strong bilateral relations and create new innovative investment opportunities of interest to both countries.