Following his visit to Kuwait, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie travelled to Doha, where he held meetings with high-ranking authorities of Qatar and a meeting on business and investments, joined by a delegation comprised of Argentine businesspeople which enabled the exchange of proposals and projects between Argentine businesspeople and their Qatari counterparts.
Early in the morning, the Foreign Minister met with Sheikha Mooza bint Nasser Al Misneed, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation. Qatar Foundation, established in 1995, is a private, non-profit organization committed to education and research, especially in the fields of human, social and economic development.
"We look forward to working jointly with Qatar Foundation on agreements involving education and technology, which will be very important for both countries," especially in the "medicine, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and energy sectors," the Foreign Minister stated at a press conference delivered to Qatari media after the meeting.
Faurie also mentioned the South-South Cooperation PABA+40 (Buenos Aires Plan of Action) meeting, which will take place in March 2019 in Argentina and will be attended not only by States but also by civil society organizations. "This major meeting will be attended by various countries from all over the world, including Qatar, under the auspices of the United Nations and will address cooperation between developing countries," Faurie announced.
The business meeting held today was jointly organized by the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and the Argentine Embassy, and was attended by Commerce and Industry authorities and officials from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Qatar Development Fund (QDF) investment funds, as well as public and public-private companies from the gas transportation, maritime logistics, oil and food sectors. The Argentine business delegation was comprised of Tenaris, PwC Argentina, NorthBaires and YPF, among others.
Faurie later held a working meeting with the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, with whom he agreed on the need to increase trade exchanges, especially in the agrifood sector.
The Argentine Government has identified great opportunities in the Qatari market for Argentine dairy products, poultry, beef and ovine meat. Furthermore, there is great potential for the entry of machinery and equipment related to the oil and gas industry, medicine and biotechnological products. In the field of services, there are also possibilities in logistics, engineering infrastructure and project management.
"We look forward to increasing Argentine trade figures, by supplying Argentine products in Qatar, in the most significant sectors, and to evaluating potential Qatari investments in Argentina," Faurie stated, who also recalled that "today the Argentine Congress approved the conditions to protect reciprocal investments between Argentina and Qatar and tax benefits," making reference to the Bilateral Investment Treaty and the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation which today were passed by a Senate Committee.
According to Faurie, Qatar is expected to increase "investments in infrastructure, energy and tourism."
He also recalled that "four months ago we were pleased to welcome the Emir to Argentina and have the chance to evaluate the main areas in which both of our countries can collaborate, including education and scientific research."
Tomorrow, Foreign Minister Faurie will hold high-level meetings with the Crown Prince of Qatar, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and the Qatari Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
