QBA launches Qatari-Spanish Business Council

The total trade volume between Qatar and Spain has reached $750m during the first 11 months of 2020 despite the ongoing global economic crisis, while Qatari investments in Spain now stands at €21bn in the fields of energy, sports and real estate.
This was announced at a webinar held recently to announce the launch of the Qatari-Spanish Joint Business Council. 
During the event, Chairman of the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani and President of the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE) Antonio Garamendi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the new joint business council, wherein they have been both named as honorary presidents. 
The Qatari-Spanish Joint Business Council will also be headed by its co-presidents, QBA Second Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Thani bin AbdullahAl Thani, and his counterpart, CEO of Spanish electric utility company Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, who were also present at the meeting. 
The virtual event was also attended by representatives of the Qatari and Spanish governments including the Director of European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Salem Al Jaber, Secretary of State for Global Spain, Manuel Muñiz, Undersecretary for Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Saleh Al Khulaifi, and Secretary of State for Trade Xiana Mendes. 
Also present during the meeting were Qatar’s Ambassador to Spain Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al Hamar and Spain’s Ambassador to Qatar Belén Alfaro Hernández. 
Officials during the meeting highlighted the growing trade relations between both countries, and reiterated that Qatar has increased its share to become one of the main suppliers of natural gas to Spain.
To date, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is the second largest shareholder in the Spanish Stock Exchange. While about 210 Spanish companies, including 23 wholly owned Spanish businesses are operating in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors in Qatar. More than 3,000 Spaniards are also working in various fields in Doha.
According to the Qatari Ambassador, the volume of Qatari investments in Spain has reached €21bn, and these investments are characterised by their diversity as they included several sectors such as energy, sports and real estate investments. 
Al Hamar also stressed that the Qatari embassy in Spain was keen to strengthen economic relations in order to achieve diversity in sources of income in line with Qatar’s Vision 2030, while at the same time supporting Spain by providing more job opportunities and increasing its foreign investments. 
The Spanish Ambassador also spoke about the welcoming work environment in Qatar, which was able to attract many Spanish companies, and indicated the possibility of benefiting from the expertise of these companies, which proved their success in either management or implementation of several projects, especially in the areas of technology, innovation, digitisation as well as product quality.
The meeting came as part of QBA’s efforts to communicate with similar economic institutions around the world in order to discuss opportunities for economic cooperation during the current global crisis and to consolidate ties to identify and benefit from global experiences and discuss proposed solutions to support private sector companies and institutions. 

Other officials who were also present at the meeting included the President of CEOE International, Marta Blanco and President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Jose Bonnet. 

From the Qatari Side, QBA Board Member Saud Al Mana, and other QBA members Khaled Al Mannai, Nabil Abu Issa, Ihssan Al Khaimi, Mohammed Althaaf, Wasim Al Dayaa (representative of Dallah Group), and QBA Deputy General Manager Sarah Abdullah also attended. 

In his welcoming address, Sheikh Faisal said:  “We are pleased today to witness the launch of the Qatari-Spanish Joint Business Council, which includes elite businessmen from Qatar and Spain and opens a new page in the history of economic relations between both countries and seeks to encourage bilateral trade and investments in various fields whether in manufacturing or service sectors and will work to provide a joint mechanism for cooperation”. 

He added: “In Qatar, we highly value our economic partners around the world and view the Spanish market as a market full of economic opportunities in various sectors. In this context, we invite Spanish investors to take advantage of the promising opportunities and the favourable environment provided by the Qatari economy, especially with the presence of the free zones in Qatar. We wish to see more Spanish companies coming to the Qatari market, and hope to work together to develop our partnerships and discuss joint investment opportunities, whether in Qatar, Spain, or any other destination around the world”. 

Garamendi went on to point out the need for cooperation between the two sides in various sectors such as industry, infrastructure and sports, especially with the approach of the 2022 World Cup. He also highlighted the free zones in Qatar, which provide many opportunities for foreign companies, and called on the Spanish companies to study the opportunity to be present in the Qatari free zones and to benefit from the privileges provided.

Bonet also reiterated that the chamber was keen to strengthen commercial and economic relations with the State of Qatar and noted that the signing of the MoU was an important step in strengthening bilateral relations, referring to the capabilities of Qatar, especially in the energy and petrochemical sectors.

In his welcoming note, Al Jaber congratulated the participants on the signing of the agreement and expressed his best wishes for the Qatari-Spanish relations.

Al Khulaifi went on to reiterate that the Qatari Spanish Joint Business Council came as a culmination of the historical partnership between Qatar and Spain which had begun since the 1970s. He also pointed out that the bilateral relations between both countries had developed remarkably in recent years, especially at the economic level. Particularly with the volume of trade between both countries exceeding the period between January and November 2020 at $750m.

For his part, Muñiz spoke about the important steps the Spanish government is taking to limit the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, including an attempt to create more job opportunities as the country witnessed a significant increase in unemployment numbers since the outbreak of the coronavirus. He added that Spain will receive €140bn from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, with half of it in support and the other half in loans. 

Mendes highlighted the strength of Spanish companies and their competitiveness in various sectors, especially the sectors of digitisation, green economy, infrastructure and sports, stressing that these experiences can contribute to achieving the economic diversification that the State of Qatar aspires and is working to achieve, especially in the fields of agriculture, livestock and electronic transformation. She added that the Spanish government is ready to support its companies in their cooperation with their counterparts in Qatar, targeting not only the Spanish and Qatari markets, but also other regional and global markets.

As co-president of the Qatari Spanish Business Council, Sheikh Dr. Khalid congratulated the participants on the launch of the joint business council, hoping that it would be a leap towards more economic and commercial cooperation and would contribute to enhancing mutual investments between Qatar and Spain, as well as to explore the investment opportunities available in both countries.

Sheikh Dr. Khalid said: “The memorandum of understanding signed by the head of the Qatari Businessmen Association today provides two main areas represented in expanding economic, technical and scientific cooperation and exchange of information between the two countries, which creates a healthy business environment aimed at promoting the development of commercial and industrial activities in Qatar and Spain. The MOU also included a very important part concerning strengthening direct contact between entrepreneurs in both countries and organizing regular meetings of the council and exchanging visits to present joint commercial projects, which promotes investment and supports economic development.”

For his part, Galan expressed his happiness in forming the Council as an important step to enhance cooperation and create more opportunities for partnerships between the two countries. He added that as President of Iberdrola, he has witnessed the beginning of his company’s cooperation since 2005 when a cooperation agreement was signed in the field of energy, and in 2010, in a project on the power grid, in addition to establishing a modernisation and innovation center in Doha. 

The meeting continued as members from both the Qatari and Spanish sides introduced their companies. The council includes major Spanish companies such as Iberdrola, which works in the energy sector, Grupo Prisa, which works in the communications and press sector, El Corte Ingles which operates in the retail, fashion, food and tourism sectors, Grupo Santander in the banking sector, Ferrovial in airports and infrastructure, FCC in infrastructure and environment, La Liga group which works in sports and football, the company Colonial in the real estate sector, Copasa and Ecisa in infrastructure, Aguas de Valencia in water treatment, as well as Qatar Airways in Spain.

On the Qatari side, the council includes Al Faisal Holding Company headed by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, which operates in several sectors, the most important of which are hospitality, construction, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and others. The council also includes the Qatar International Islamic Bank headed by Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Thani Al Thani; as well as Saud Al Mana as CEO of Al Mana Group, which operates in several sectors such as trade, construction and services; Nabil Abu Issa as CEO of the Blue Salon for the retail and luxury goods sector; Khaled Al Mannai as CEO of Al Mannai Company; Ibrahim Al Jaidah as CEO of Arab Engineering Bureau; Ihsan Al Khaimi as the Managing Director of Al Wataniya International Group, and Muhammad Althaf, Director of Lulu International Group.