The Ministry of Commerce and Industry hosted a delegation from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, visiting Doha from December 20 to 21.

During the visit, a bilateral meeting took place between a delegation from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, led by His Excellency Mr. Sultan bin Rashid Al-Khater, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and a delegation from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, headed by His Excellency Engineer Al-Bader bin Adel Fouda, Acting Undersecretary of Development and Supervisor of the Empowerment Agency. Experts from both delegations were present and participated in the meeting.

This visit is part of the ongoing efforts to enhance collaboration between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and it aligns with the decision of the Industrial Cooperation Committee made during its meeting in October 2022 to adopt the unified Gulf strategy for industrial development, which is developed to support industrial integration among the GCC countries.

During the meeting, several topics were discussed, encompassing the priorities of the industry and mineral wealth system, aspects of industrial integration between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 2024, the priorities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the strategies of both countries in the field of supply chain integration, origin rules within the Gulf region, talent and workforce, and investment. Furthermore, the future factories program was also examined.

On the sidelines of this meeting, workshops were also held at the headquarters of the Qatar Business Incubation Center, a QDB Incubator. The workshops focused on the Future Factories Programme, the priorities of the industrial system, and aspects of industrial integration between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2024.

During the visit, a field tour was organized for the Saudi delegation to the industrial areas in Doha. They had the opportunity to tour model factories (Jahiz1), an initiative launched by the business incubator, and visit successful Qatari industrial projects aligned with the future factories model. The aim was to familiarize the Saudi side with the most significant ongoing industrial projects recently launched in the country.

The two delegations proceeded their bilateral meeting on the second day of the visit at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Headquarters, where discussions were dedicated to cover several topics of common interest.

At the conclusion of the meeting, both the Qatari and Saudi delegations proposed numerous joint initiatives and recommendations aimed at advancing collaborative efforts and expanding the scope of bilateral work in the industrial sector.