October 30 2018
Private sector leader Qatar Chamber held a high-level meeting yesterday in Doha with Nepal’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari, who called on Qatari companies to invest in her country.
In a meeting at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel, Bhandari said Nepal has a “secure” investment climate, and stressed that her country has a range of international companies operating there.
She said “all sectors” are open to Qatari businessmen, especially tourism, industry, infrastructure, and agriculture. The president noted that Nepal’s agricultural sector and animal production “have many opportunities for investment.”
Bhandari said Qatar remains “an attractive destination” for Nepalese workers, citing regular daily flights of Qatar Airways to Nepal, “thus facilitating transportation.” She also lauded both governments’ efforts “to develop relations not only in employment but at all levels.”
Similarly, Qatar Chamber first vice chairman Mohamed bin Towar al-Kuwari encouraged Qatari businessmen present during the meeting to explore business opportunities available in Nepal’s hydrocarbons, tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors.
Al-Kuwari said there are several Nepalese companies operating in the Qatari market in various fields. He said the Chamber signed in April a memorandum of understanding with the Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry to enhance mutual co-operation and for the exchange of information and visits.
He called on businessmen from both countries to establish effective partnerships and investment alliances that will promote bilateral co-operation in the commercial sector.
“These relations have been characterised by trust, mutual respect, understanding, and fruitful co-operation,” al-Kuwari said, adding that Qatar-Nepal trade volume stood at QR15mn in 2017.
Citing investment incentives and mechanisms offered by both countries, al-Kuwari expressed optimism that Qatar-Nepal trade volume “would grow significantly in the coming period.”
In a presentation during the meeting, it was revealed that Qatari investors could participate in Nepal’s major projects in the fields of infrastructure, roads, bridges, tourism, industry, and agriculture.
Data provided by Qatar Chamber showed that Nepal’s primary exports to Qatar include garments, textiles, magnetic cylinders, vegetables, and others, while Nepal imports polyethylene, polypropylene, and some food products from Qatar.
The Nepalese workforce in Qatar is estimated at about 400,000, involved in mainly major infrastructure projects, Qatar Chamber added.
هذه الصفحة متوفرة ايضاً باللغة: Arabic
