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H.E. Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce, and H.E Mr. Enggartiasto Lukita, Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, inaugurated the Qatar-Indonesia Economic Forum on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 in Jakarta. The forum, which was organized by Qatar’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, comes within the framework of H.H. the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s visit to Indonesia.
 
The forum brought together HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber, and Mr. Erwin Aksa, Vice President of Indonesia Chamber of Commerce, along with more than 400 businessmen, investors, government officials, company executives, economic bodies and experts. Attendees gained an insight into investment opportunities across the trade, agriculture, tourism, industry and services sectors, as well as the wider economic fields of both countries.
Speaking at the opening of the forum, H.E Sheikh Ahmed highlighted “promising opportunities for fostering Qatari-Indonesian bilateral trade and economic relations,” while praising the level of cooperation between the two countries, which made progress towards close economic cooperation.
 
H.E noted that Qatari-Indonesian bilateral trade stood at about 500 million USD in 2016, noting an increase in Qatari exports to Indonesia to 356 million USD, while Indonesia’s exports to Qatar stood at 131 million USD in 2016.
 
H.E Sheikh Ahmed highlighted the competitiveness of the Qatari economy and the numerous incentives it offers to investors, while praising economic and trade relations between Qatar and Indonesia. His Excellency also underscored Qatar’s strategic location, which contributes to increasing its attractiveness as an investment destination, and shed light on the country’s advanced infrastructure and its position as the world’s largest natural gas exporter.
 
Sheikh Ahmed stressed that Qatar has succeeded in delivering an array of world-class infrastructure projects over the past few years. These include Hamad International Airport, one of the world’s largest airports, that will soon accommodate 50 million passengers annually, and Hamad Port, which boasts a capacity of 7.5 million containers. Qatar also hosts an advanced network of highways, while its globally leading airline, Qatar Airways, connects the country to more than 150 destinations worldwide.
 
H.E noted that Qatar is highly competitive in the energy market thanks to its rich natural gas and oil resources, and that the nation is also the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas and helium, and the fourth-largest producer of urea in the world.
 
Highlighting incentives provided by the state, Sheikh Ahmed said non-Qatari investors can own up to 100% of investment projects in several economic sectors, while invested foreign capital is exempted from income tax for up to ten years from the date of launching an investment project. Qatar also offers key investment incentives, such as exempting imported large machinery and raw materials from taxes, and refraining from imposing restrictions on capital and profit repatriation, in addition to allowing the free transfer of company ownership.
 
His Excellency urged the business community to tap investment opportunities offered by Qatar, noting that the state is providing important incentives in a number of priority sectors, including industry, agriculture, health, education, information technology, tourism and sports.
 
Highlighting the characteristics of Qatar’s logistics and industrial zones, H.E. Sheikh Ahmed noted that Qatar has developed a comprehensive environment to attract investors, reflecting the state’s belief that the country’s business climate and institutional framework are equally important to its advanced infrastructure. He also highlighted the incentives offered to investors by the Qatar Financial Centre, the Qatar Science and Technology Park, as well as the nation’s logistics and industrial zones, adding that the development of a Sport Business Park, which will be dedicated to sports companies involved in the organization of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is underway.
 
Touching on the laws and legislative framework established to regulate the business environment, His Excellency underlined Qatar’s efforts to consolidate the concept of the rule of law, an important characteristic of the Qatari legislative environment at the global level, as demonstrated by the country’s ranking in 10th place on the Institutional Strength Index. Qatar has recently issued several laws to promote business, namely a new International Arbitration Law, a Commercial Companies Law and a Labor Law.
 
His Excellency added that Qatar is currently working on issuing a Public Private Partnership Law that will facilitate the establishment of new projects in the areas of health and education, among other sectors.
 
The Minister also highlighted Qatar’s advanced ranking on several international indices, noting the country’s leading position in terms of low inflation, business safety, the impact of taxes in business and the government efficiency index.
 
His Excellency outlined the programs and policies adopted by Qatar to establish an attractive investment environment for various economic projects, pointing out that the country has achieved significant growth driven by an increase in the contribution of the oil and non-oil sectors to GDP. Qatar has continued to achieve stable real GDP growth rates of 3.3 % over the last three years, despite fluctuations in oil prices, which demonstrates the strength of the Qatari economy. The Minister also highlighted the strength of the Qatari riyal, which has been pegged to the US dollar since 1982.
 
Touching on the education sector, the Minister said Qatar is home to a very high-quality education system, ranking fifth globally on the Quality of Education Index, according to the World Economic Forum. The country has allocated 2.8 % of its GDP for research & development, and is home to some of the world’s leading educational institutions, such as Qatar Foundation, Qatar University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University, as well as elite international universities such as Texas A&M, Weill Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and Georgetown.
 
His Excellency voiced his hope that the forum will provide an opportunity to establish action plans aimed at increasing economic cooperation and bolstering bilateral trade and investment, as well as paving the way for partnerships and joint investments between Qatari businessmen and their Indonesian counterparts.
 
For his part, Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, H.E Mr. Enggartiasto Lukita, Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, underscored the development of Qatari-Indonesia economic and trade relations, saying both Qatar and Indonesia are home to business-friendly economies which serve to promote free trade.
 
The Indonesian Minister added that his country has cemented its position as one of the world’s leading emerging countries with major investment breakthroughs across various sectors, noting that the agricultural, tourism and real estate sectors offer promising opportunities that contribute to the development of bilateral relations between Indonesian businessmen and their Qatari counterparts.
 
The Minister also stressed that the forum paves the way for the private sector in both countries to enhance bilateral cooperation and benefit from the important opportunities offered by Qatar and Indonesia in the investment and trade sectors, noting that the bilateral agreements signed during the forum mark an important milestone in the development of economic and trade cooperation.
 
H.E. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber, also spoke of his expectancy that the forum paves the way for new joint commercial and investment ventures.
 
Sheikh Khalifa said Qatari-Indonesian economic and trade relations have grown over the past years, as demonstrated by the value of bilateral trade which stood at about QR 1.8 billion in 2016, while noting the important role that the private sector plays in enhancing commercial and investment relations between both countries. He also urged the establishment of successful investment partnerships, noting that the participation of a large number of Qatari and Indonesian investors and businessmen in the forum reflects a common interest in promoting bilateral investments in priority sectors.
 
For his part, Mr. Erwin Aksa, Vice President of Indonesia Chamber of Commerce, said the forum propels Qatari-Indonesian ties forward. Mr. Aksa praised the development and growth of trade relations between Qatar and Indonesia, and invited companies and businessmen from both countries to take advantage of the investment opportunities that were highlighted during the forum.
 
He also stressed the importance of joint efforts by the business sector in both countries to explore cooperation opportunities and exchange expertise, trade visits and fairs in a bid to capitalize on the the agreements and memorandums of understanding signed in various economic fields to the benefits of both countries.
 
The forum featured two workshops. The first, entitled Qatar Challenges and Opportunities for Joint Projects & Investment, brought together 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.
 
The second workshop touched on transportation, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, programme delivery, challenges and opportunities for Qatari-Indonesian 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 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 forum also included bilateral meetings between businessmen from both countries to discuss investment opportunities, as well as measures to bolster long-term economic cooperation, so as to enable Qatari companies to draw lessons from their Indonesian counterparts’ success.
 
The Economic Forum is the latest in a series of key initiatives aimed at highlighting the competitiveness of Qatar’s economy and business environment, which will further contribute to attracting foreign direct investment.