His Excellency Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed, Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs, participated in the eleventh session of the Belt and Road Summit, hosted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, under the slogan “Advancing high-quality development.” Embarking on a New Journey.” The summit was opened by His Excellency Mr. John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in the presence of a number of senior government officials, heads and representatives of regional and international organizations.
This participation comes within the framework of the State of Qatar’s efforts to enhance international cooperation and expand the scope of trade and investment partnerships, in line with the challenges witnessed by the global economy, and contribute to advancing comprehensive and sustainable development.
In his speech during the political dialogue session entitled “Building flexible frameworks for trade and investment in light of a diverse global landscape,” His Excellency the Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs stressed that the summit represents an important platform for enhancing dialogue, expanding horizons of cooperation, and building economic partnerships capable of keeping pace with the rapid transformations the world is witnessing.
Regarding the economic and trade relations between the State of Qatar and Hong Kong, His Excellency stressed the importance of developing joint cooperation, in light of Hong Kong’s status as a global center for trade, investment, financial and logistical services and the opportunities it provides to strengthen ties between the State of Qatar and Asian markets. He pointed out that the volume of trade exchange between the State of Qatar and Hong Kong amounted to about 1.7 billion US dollars during the past four years, and many companies from Hong Kong operate in the Qatari market, which reflects the opportunities available to advance these relations to broader levels.
He also stressed the importance of expanding areas of commercial cooperation through holding exhibitions and trade markets and mutual participation in them, in a way that enhances the definition of national goods and products, and opens new horizons for their access to Asian markets.
His Excellency called on Hong Kong companies to take advantage of the competitive economic and investment environment provided by the State of Qatar, and the services and advantages provided by the free zones, to establish qualitative partnerships in various sectors that serve the Qatari market and constitute a platform for access to new markets in the region.
On the sidelines of participation in the summit, His Excellency Mr. John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, received His Excellency Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed, Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs.
His Excellency the Minister of State for Foreign Trade also held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of his participation, where he met with His Excellency Mr. Algernon Yau – Minister of Trade and Economic Development of Hong Kong, His Excellency Mr. Paul Chan Moo-po – Minister of Finance of Hong Kong, His Excellency Mr. Jam Kamal Khan – Federal Minister of Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, His Excellency Mr. Khandker Abdul Muqtadir – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Textiles and Jute of the Republic of Bangladesh, His Excellency Mr. Wasantha Samransinghe – Minister of Trade, Supply and Security Food and cooperative development in Sri Lanka, and His Excellency Dr. Kerida Baubechter – Deputy Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Thailand, in addition to holding a number of meetings with major international companies.
These meetings discussed opportunities for joint cooperation in various fields, and ways to enhance economic, trade and investment partnerships were also reviewed.
