International Trade Minister today (7 December) met with
Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce, HE Sheikh Ahmed bin
Jassim al Thani, for the inaugural Joint Economic and Trade
Commission (JETCO) between the two countries.
Today’s talks explored opportunities to strengthen and build on
bilateral trade ties, following a commitment made by the
Qatari Prime Minister in March to invest an additional
£5bn across the UK over the next 3-5 years. The talks
concluded with both sides signing a statement outlining their
mutual commitment to support small businesses in both countries
and improve access to trade financing to help exporters.
Trade between the UK and Qatar was worth more than £5bn in 2016,
with machinery, mechanical parts and precious stones and metals
among the most popular UK goods exports to Qatar.
International Trade Minister said:
“I am delighted to be meeting with my Qatari counterparts today
as we look to strengthen our trade and investment relationship,
identifying opportunities for growth and breaking down barriers
to trade between our nations.
“As an international economic department, we are committed to
building a long and fruitful trading partnership with Qatar over
the coming months and years.”
During the talks, the Ministers also met UK companies working in
Qatar and looked at ways to overcome market access barriers,
while fresh dialogues on education and technology will
create significant opportunities for key UK industries.
Notes to editors:
- Total trade in goods and services (i.e. exports plus imports)
between the UK and Qatar totalled £5.2bn in 2016.
- Today’s was the first meeting of the UK-Qatar JETCO, which
will meet every year to advance the trade and investment
relationship.
