HE Sheikh / Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Minister of Business and Trade: Advancing the capacity and efficiency of the commercial ports of the country has a direct reflection on the ease of the flow of goods and the increase of the competitiveness of the private sector.
HE Mr. Ahmed Al Mohannadi: The One Stop Custom Shop has reached an advanced stage.
Chief Executive of Qatar Navigation: A common responsibility exists between the relevant agencies of the state and the private sector, and are committed to providing the necessary support to promote the initiative.
Ali Bin Abdullatif Al-Mussnid, Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Qatar: We support the efforts and results of this initiative that comes in favor of the private sector due to its positive impact and direct effect on the business process.Under the initiative of the Ministry of Business and Trade to increase the competitiveness of the business sector through supporting the Trade Supply chain, the ministry has started during the past few months, under the direct supervision of His Excellency Sheikh / Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al- Thani, Minister of Business and Trade, to form work teams from the various relevant agencies, to develop a plan to increase the capacity of the port of Doha and make a quantum leap in the duration of the completion of the customs procedures at the port.
His Excellency Sheikh / Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al- Thani, signed yesterday in his office, a number of specific obligations to achieve the initiative through Qatar Ports Management Company, the General Administration of Customs, Qatar Navigation Company, the Public Transport Department, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Qatar. This cooperation between these different sides has resulted in a number of achievements that included floor repair in the port, removal of some unused buildings as a way to increase the storage area, and the repair of the main port cranes on site.
HE Mr. / Ahmed bin Ali Al Mohannadi, Director of the General Administration of Customs, presented a report on the results of the application of the One Stop Custom Shop system, which was recently launched, noting that this system has reached an advanced stage and has made a huge jump that exceeded 100% in December 2011 compared to November 2011.
The meeting included an invitation of the members of the Commercial Ports’ Strategy Committee, which was formed through an initiative by the Ministry of Business and Trade and the Ministry of Energy and Industry. During the meeting they discussed the latest news on the commercial exploitation of the port of Mesaieed, after the receipt of the first commercial ship in the port. The Committee pointed out the capacity of the port to receive more than one hundred thousand commercial and industrial containers annually as an initial stage. His Excellency the Minister of Business and Trade gave his instructions to the committee and the relevant authorities to finalize the application of an appropriate policy and to develop the final program to activate the flow of the commercial shipping through the port of Mesaieed.
HE Sheikh / Jassim emphasized that the economic boom taking place in the country requires a real action and an effective plan that increases the capacity and the efficiency of the commercial ports of the state and avoids any future bottlenecks that may affect the natural flow of the entry and the availability of goods and trade and industrial materials in the state.