Trade & Investment

Rising oil prices and effective policy-making have played a significant role in returning Qatar to a healthy trade surplus. A swift response by a range of government ministries has secured new routes to global markets. In March 2018 Hamad Port, which officially opened in 2017, celebrated the handling of 1m twenty-foot equivalent units ahead of schedule. Foreign investment also continues to rise on a year-on-year basis. Legislators are overhauling laws and regulations in order to maintain this positive trend, a process that promises to open the economy to further global capital. This chapter includes interviews with Ahmad Al Sayed, Minister of State; and Chairman, Qatar Free Zones Authority; and Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi, CEO, Manateq.