Qatar chamber recently hosted a virtual introductory meeting, in cooperation with the Qatari-Russian Center for Cooperation (QRCC), under the theme 'Qatari-Russian Cooperation Opportunities'.

The webinar reviewed ways to boost commercial and economic ties between Qatar and Russia, and identified the latest developments on Qatar’s participation in the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) scheduled on June 2021.

The webinar was held in the presence of Qatar Chamber board member Ali bin Abdullatif al-Misnad, who is also chairman of the Qatari-Russian Business Council, and QRCC Supervisory Board chairman Fahad bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, as well as with several board members of the chamber.

Al-Misnad stressed that the webinar was significant in identifying the preparations for Qatar's participation as guest country in SPIEF, an international forum that has been held since 1997.

Underscoring the importance of SPEIF, al-Misnad said the forum represents “a genuine opportunity” for participants to forge agreements and deals between major global economic and financial institutions, as well as to discuss the key global economic issues.

Al-Misnad said he hopes the webinar would help participants learn more about the Qatar’s participation in SPIEF. He said in the SPIEF 2019 Qatar Chamber signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Roscongress Foundation participation, which is the organiser of the forum.

The chamber will participate in the upcoming forum in the Qatar pavilion, alongside several of the country’s ministries and institutions, as well as economic and developmental bodies.

Al-Misnad said he is confident that SPIEF will contribute to strengthening cooperation relations between Qatar and Russia, especially between the private sectors of both countries.

"SPIEF provides an important platform for identifying the attractive investment climate in Qatar and promoting the Qatari economy, in general, and private sector projects, in particular, as well as exploring the investment opportunities available in Russia and discussing the possibility of establishing alliances and joint projects between Qatari and Russian businessmen," al-Misnad added.

In his opening remarks, al-Attiyah emphasised that SPIEF is the largest investment and economy-focused event of its kind in the Eastern hemisphere. He also marked the significance of the State of Qatar being officially invited as guest country at SPIEF, “an honour which enables Qatar to enhance bilateral investment and trade ties between the two nations, while also opening up considerable opportunities for Qatari companies to set up partnerships with Russian companies.”

"The role of QRCC is to bring together Qatari and Russian businessmen prior to SPIEF 2021 for discussions on deals, and to facilitate their investment and trade fields between them, to ensure tangible deals and agreements at SPIEF 2021, as well as successful bilateral cooperation", al-Attiyah added.

Qatar Chamber board member Ibtihaj al-Ahmadani called for a wider participation of Qatari businesswomen at the forum to learn about investment opportunities available in Russia. She stressed that Qatar is a robust and promising market for Russian businesswomen in numerous aspects of cooperation.

QRCC CEO Diana Charmadova said each year the number of participants in SPIEF exceeds 19,000 from more than 145 countries. SPIEF attracts heads of major Russian and foreign companies, heads of states and political leaders, prime ministers, deputy prime ministers, and governors, she added.

As a guest country, Charmadova said the honourary position implies organising business events, as well as exhibitions and cultural events, in addition to the construction of a national pavilion for showcasing the country's capabilities in the economy, industry, culture, and tourism.

Charmadova said it is expected that about 50 entities comprising 500 delegates from Qatar will participate in the forum. Qatar’s pavilion is approximately 3,900sq m distributed in four zones for exhibiting and non-exhibiting entities, she added.