The upcoming visit of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to the US will take the already strong bilateral ties of the two countries to new heights.
During the visit, H H the Amir will meet with President Donald Trump and senior most leaders in the US government to discuss bilateral relations and the issues facing the region.
The strong relations between the two countries are reflected in the robust bilateral trade, which is growing consistently.
The Qatar-US bilateral trade volume registered double-digit growth in April this year. The total value of trade exchange in goods between the two countries touched QR1.39bn ($382.8m) in April, registering a sharp jump of over 50 percent compared to QR926.03m ($254.3m) in the same month last year. It shows that the trade relations between Qatar and US as booming.
The combined value of two-way trade exchange in goods between Qatar and the US for the first four months of this year (January-April 2019) has surpassed over QR8.32bn ($2.28bn), witnessing a remarkable growth of over 58 percent compared to QR5.24bn ($1.44bn) in the same period in the previous year (January-April 2018), online data released by the United States Census Bureau show.
The US maintained a $2.8bn trade surplus with Qatar in 2018, driven by Qatari purchases of US aviation and defense systems and technology products. Overall volume of trade in 2018 was $6bn.
Over 120 American companies operate in Qatar, and the US firms have secured major contracts associated with road, rail, seaport, airport, and stadium projects across Qatar.
“Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is implementing a $45bn investment program in the US. Over half of these funds, largely destined for real estate and infrastructure investments, have been allocated so far. Qatar Investment Authority makes decisions based on getting the best return for their money.
All Qatari companies including the Qatar Investment Authority find US economy as a great economy to get good return,” US Embassy Chief of Mission in Qatar and Chargé d’Affaires William Grant, said last week while talking to local media.
The repeated visits of H H the Amir to the US are a reflection of not only the strong, but rapidly growing bilateral relationship.
The upcoming visit will build on the longstanding partnership between two countries by further strengthening economic and security ties.
