International Trade minister holds UK-Qatar talks to strengthen trade
International Trade Minister, Greg Hands, and Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce, HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al Thani, aim to strengthen trade ties.
International Trade Minister, Greg Hands, and Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce, HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al Thani, met to explore opportunities to strengthen and build on bilateral trade ties.
This week, International Trade Minister, Greg Hands, 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 2 countries.
Today’s talks explored opportunities to strengthen and build on bilateral trade ties. It follows a commitment made by the Qatari Prime Minister in March to invest an additional £5 billion across the UK over the next 3 to 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 £5 billion in 2016, with machinery, mechanical parts and precious stones and metals among the most popular UK goods exports to Qatar.
International Trade Minister Greg Hands 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 important UK industries.
Notes to editors
Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Qatar totalled £5.2 billion in 2016.
This was the first meeting of the UK-Qatar JETCO, which will meet every year to advance the trade and investment relationship.
Further information
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