Results of the round table: development of Qatari-Italian cooperation

30 December 2020

At the beginning of the week, a round table meeting was held, which was attended by the Qatari and Italian sides. The main topic of discussion was the prospect of selling Italian companies in the Qatari market

From 2012 to 2019, exports from Qatar to Italy increased more than fivefold. The next step to increase trade between the two countries was a bilateral meeting of the Qatari and Italian sides to discuss further business strategies.

According to a statement by Qatar's Minister of Transport and Communications, Jassim Ahmed Al-Sulaiti, there are already more than 40 agreements between the two countries covering several different key industries.

On Monday, a round table meeting was held, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, the main topic of which was the discussion of further prospects for cooperation.

The delegation of Qatar was headed by al-Sulaiti. Minister of Trade and Industry Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari and Head of the Qatar Investment Authority Mansour bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud also took part in the discussion.

The Italian delegation was headed by Minister of foreign Affairs of Italy Luigi Di Maio. The round table was attended by the Ambassador of Qatar to Italy Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al-Malki Al-Jehani and the Ambassador of Italy to Qatar Alessandro Prunas.

During the meeting, a letter on cooperation and cooperation in the field of innovation was signed between the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Social Development and the Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.

The important role of Italian firms in strategic projects in the logistics sector of Qatar's ports was also highlighted. According to Al-Suleiti, a consortium led by an Italian company has made a great contribution to the development, design and construction of one of the Doha Metro lines.

According to him, the leading Italian company Bernardini, specializing in the design and supply of equipment, as well as installations for the fat and oil industry, participated in the construction of the strategic food security Facility (SFSF) in the port of Hamad as an international consultant.

The meeting resulted in the development of new areas of cooperation and discussion of the possibilities of introducing Italian business companies to the Qatari market.