Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tahnoon discuss ways to enhance ties

Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, on Sunday received Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser, along with his accompanying delegation, at the Emiri Diwan in Doha.

At the start of the meeting, Sheikh Tahnoon conveyed the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, and their wishes for good health and well-being for the Emir of Qatar, and for further progress and prosperity for Qatar and its people.

In response, Sheikh Tamim conveyed his greetings to Sheikh Mohamed and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, along with his wishes for continued growth and prosperity for the UAE and its people.

The meeting discussed the close ties between the two nations and explored ways to enhance them, as well as a number of issues of mutual interest.

Recently, the UAE, Iraq, Qatar and Türkiye, have signed a quadrilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the Development Road project. Iraq’s PM Muhammed S Al Sudani and President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan witnessed the signing ceremony.

“This MoU focuses on collaboration for the strategic ‘Development Road’ project. The event was attended by members of the four signatory countries,” according to a PM Media Office statement received by the Iraqi News Agency.

The MOU was signed by Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Iraq’s Minister of Transport, Razzaq Muhibis, Türkiye’sAbdulkadir Uraloğlu, and Qatar’s Minister of Transport, Jassim Bin Saif Al Sulaiti.

“The outlines for the framework of implementing the Development Road project aim to stimulate economic growth and enhance regional and international cooperation through economic integration. It seeks to create a sustainable economy bridging East and West, increase international trade, facilitate movement and commerce, establish a new competitive transport route, and bolster regional economic prosperity,” added the PM Office statement.

Meanwhile, the Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), had revealed that the volume of trade between Ajman and Qatar increased by 68% in 2023, with a total value reaching Dhs521 million, compared to Dhs310 million until the third quarter of 2022.

The most important export products include ships, boats, iron and steel products, and mineral oils, he added.

Qatar was ranked 11th of 67 countries, most of which are developed countries, in the 2024 World Competitiveness Booklet, issued by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, compared to 12th last year.

According to the Qatar News Agency (QNA), the report ranked Qatar 4th, 7th, 11th and 33rd respectively across the economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure factors.

The competitiveness assessment was based on the developments witnessed by a comprehensive set of data and indicators provided at the local level, along with the results of an opinion poll of a sample of company managers and businessmen on the business environment and the competitiveness of the Qatari economy, as well as comparing such data and indicators with counterparts from other reviewed countries.

Qatar’s rank was positively influenced by the outstanding performance of many subfactors classified under the four factors mentioned above. Under the economic performance factor, the most prominent indicators were the unemployment rate, youth unemployment rate, and terms of trade index in which the country ranked first globally.

Within the government efficiency factor, the Qatari economy ranked first in both the consumption tax rate and the personal income tax rate, while it ranked second in the public finance index.

As for the business efficiency factor, Qatar ranked first globally in both the effectiveness of corporate boards and the migrant stock, while it came in second place globally in the working hours index. Under the infrastructure factor, Qatar ranked first in the subfactors of energy infrastructure and the number of internet users per 1,000 people.

WAM