UDC’s The Pearl and Gewan Islands win 11 accolades

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United Development Company (UDC), a leading Qatari public shareholding company and the master developer of The Pearl and Gewan Islands, recently won 11 accolades in the 2021 Arabian Property Awards.

The Pearl Island awards include Mixed Use Development award, Leisure Development award for Corinthia Yacht Club, Leisure Architecture award for Corinthia Yacht Club, Retail Architecture award for Giardino Mall, and Public Service Development award for United School International.

The Gewan Island awards include Mixed Use Architecture award, Leisure Development award, New Hotel Construction & Design award for Corinthia Gewan Island Qatar Hotel, Hotel Architecture award for Corinthia Gewan Island Qatar Hotel, Leisure Architecture award for Gewan Island Villas, and Public Service Architecture award for Gewan Bridge.

Commenting on the recognition, Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman, UDC President, CEO and Member of The Board said: “These prestigious awards are a strong affirmation of our commitment in making The Pearl and Gewan Islands some of the region’s most remarkable destinations providing an integrated and unique lifestyle, leisure and community experience to our residents and visitors. UDC’s signature quality and innovation are therefore evidenced throughout all our new residential, retail, entertainment and hospitality projects which led to us winning many awards namely for Corinthia Yacht Club, Giardino Mall and United School International at The Pearl-Qatar as well Gewan Island Villas, Gewan Bridge and Corinthia Gewan Island Qatar Hotel”.

Having won the Mixed-Use Development award for the fifth time, The Pearl Island incorporates a variety of distinct properties including apartments, villas, townhouses, penthouses, diverse entertainment facilities and retail offerings, in addition to beautiful, serene beaches and the award-winning Porto Arabia marina which is also the Middle East’s largest marina.

UDC continues to enhance its offerings at The Pearl Island with the construction of luxury residential villa compounds and shopping centres in Floresta Gardens and Giardino Village where the award-winning Giardino Mall and United School International are being constructed in addition to the exclusive double award winner Corinthia Yacht Club in Porto Arabia.

UDC is also going forward with the development of Gewan Island which has crossed the halfway mark. The Island will comprise several award-winning structures including the double award winner ‘Corinthia Gewan Island Qatar’ Hotel with its connected Beach Club and Golf Course, as well as 657 residential units, including 586 apartments and the second-time winner private villas consisting of 21 beachfront villas with a private beach, 26 waterfront villas that are equipped with private pontoons for private boats and six independent island mansions.

Gewan Island’s unique mixed-use architecture and leisure offerings further encompass a lively retail hub at the heart of the Island surrounded by an air conditioned outdoor ‘Crystal Walkway’ and seaside ‘Promenade’, with public parks and green areas as well as comprehensive leisure facilities for residents. The Island will also be accessible via Qatar’s first curved stay cable ‘Gewan Bridge’ which has also been recognised for its unique architecture promising to be a landmark and an engineering masterpiece that complements Gewan Island’s distinct character. Bridge development works are at 75% scheduled to be fully completed by year-end.

The Arabian Property Awards are considered the largest, most prestigious, and widely recognised award programme marking their 28th year. The awards therefore reflect UDC’s leading position ahead of hundreds of firms across 45 real estate categories including residential and commercial properties that have been carefully appraised by a panel of 80 international experts led by three members of the UK’s House of Lords. The evaluation is based on criteria such as design, quality, services, innovation and commitment to sustainability.

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/18/11/2021/udcs-the-pearl-and-gewan-islands-win-11-accolades

US remains Qatar’s largest foreign direct investor

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Qatar and United States offer growth opportunities to businesses.

The bilateral trade volume between the two countries is set to rise further as economies come out of coro-navirus pandemic, said a senior US official during a webinar.

Natalie Baker, Chargé d’Affaires, US Embassy in Qatar discussed the key policy areas that play a role in shaping the US-Qatar bilateral relationship during a virtual event hosted by Doha Bank jointly with US Embassy in Doha entitled ‘US – Qatar Bilateral Cooperation and Opportunities in Trade and Investment’.

Speaking about the commercial trade and investment partnership, Baker high-lighted that the United States remains Qatar’s largest foreign direct investor, two-way trade totaled more than $4.6bn in 2020.

Addressing about the US companies that are active in the market, she said, “I am impressed with the depth and breadth of US companies highlighting that American tech-nical expertise and exports form a major part of many of Qatar’s signature projects – from the North Field LNG extension to the country’s digital transformation and many opportunities lie ahead,” she added. “There is so much opportunities for growth in Qatar and US, businesses can and should be at the forefront of all of these exciting initiatives.”

Responding to a query about how US-Qatar can work together on climate change, Baker said, “We would love to do joint investment projects for example here and in other countries to promote more clean energy solutions. There are many coun-tries that depend on outdated technology, and we believe that together we can work to improve the positions and continue to combat climate change through those types of initiatives.”

She explored areas for further enhancing economic cooperation and initiatives aimed at strengthening people to people ties between Americans and Qataris.

Baker said, “Much of my work since last three months has been focused on cooper-ation with Qatar on Afghanistan and the mas-sively location of out rest Afghans, American citizens, legal permanent residents and visa holders from Afghanistan to Doha. This effort of historic proportions is a true testimony of strength of our bilateral relationship and deep US partnership with Qatar.”

She added “Qatar stepped up at a very key moment on the global stage and together we have evacuated and resettled more than 60,000 people through Qatar since the beginning of operation in mid-August which is almost half the total number individuals we evacuated from Afghanistan.”

“Throughout 2021 we also celebrated the ‘Qatar-USA Year of Culture’. We have used these opportunities to bolster ties between our two nations by facilitating cul-tural exchanges between Qataris and Amer-icans at an individual, organisational, and national level,” Baker said. She added, “As we prepare to close our the ‘Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture’ we invite you to par-ticipate in the Qatar-USA festival to be held from November 24-29 in Doha. We will host a number of cultural envoys from United States as well and are looking towards next year celebrating 50 years of the US embassy’s presence in Doha.”

“The Doha International Book Fair in January of next year will also serve as an opportunity for us to redouble our public engagement as we look to deepen our people to people ties with 50 years of part-nership behind us and many more to come,” she added.

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/19/11/2021/us-remains-qatars-largest-foreign-direct-investor

Realty trading volume exceeds QR373m last week

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The total value of real estate transactions in the sales contracts registered with the Real Estate Registration Department of the Ministry of Justice from November 7 to 11, reached QR373,507,402.

The types of real estate traded included vacant lands, houses, residential buildings, a com-mercial building and multi-purpose buildings.

Most of the trading took place in the munic-ipalities of Al Rayyan, Doha, Al Wakrah, Umm Salal, Al Da’ayen, Al Shamal, Al Khor and Al Dhakhira.

The volume of real estate circulation during the period from October 31 to November 4 reached QR255,036,077.

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/19/11/2021/realty-trading-volume-exceeds-qr373m-last-week

Saudi’s Dar Al Arkan inks deal for first Qatar real estate project

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Leading Saudi real estate outfit Dar Al Arkan will mark its first foray into Qatar with the development of a “premium project” on Qetaifan Island North.

The move comes following a deal struck between Dar Al Arkan and Qetaifan Projects, a leading Qatari real estate development company owned by Katara Hospitality.

The project will include premium residential units and will also offer residents access to specialised retail outlets on the ground floor.

Ziad El Chaar, vice chairman of Dar Al Arkan Properties, said: “We are excited to become part of Doha’s thriving real-estate market. As the nation gets ready to host the World Cup next year, we believe this global event will have positive implications for the market and position Qatar as a desirable market that is equally attractive to both local residents and international investors.”

Qetaifan Island North will feature a waterpark, an array of luxurious hotels, accommodation, retail options, and various other facilities.

Sheikh Nasser Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, managing director, Qetaifan Projects, said: “We are delighted to work with Dar Al Arkan on this unique premium project. Qetaifan Island North is being developed to become an attractive and sought-after destination with its many residential, entertainment, retail and recreational offerings that will put Qatar on the regional and global tourism map.”

Work on the development will start in the second quarter of next year and total sales are expected to reach over QR1 billion ($274.7m).

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/gcc/saudi-arabia/469905-saudis-dar-al-arkan-inks-deal-for-qatar-development

As COP26 negotiations conclude, call for urgent climate action in Iraq is louder than ever

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The United Nations in Iraq has welcomed commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow but stresses the need for urgent action on these promises to limit climate change’s adverse impacts on human rights and sustainable development in Iraq.

Commitments made at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) conference – attended by a Government of Iraq high-level delegation from representatives of the ministries of Environment, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Higher Education, Industry and Oil, as well we representatives from the private sector – include:

• The announcement of an additional $US356 million to the Adaptation fund which will increase the resilience of vulnerable communities on the frontline of climate change. This stronger commitment paves the way for greater resources to avert, minimise and address loss and damage in Iraq.

• The Breakthrough Agenda, an international strategy to deliver clean and affordable technology everywhere by 2030, signed by more than 40 world leaders. This commitment is critical to helping Iraq’s gradual energy transition and accelerating low carbon solutions.

• The Global Forest Finance Pledge, a commitment to end deforestation by 2030 will help Iraq scale up its forest conservation efforts, facilitate trade to promote sustainable development and increase rural employment opportunities.

• A commitment to improving transparency and environmental integrity through the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on international emissions trading. Iraq fully supports an independent mechanism to redress potential harms and support the creation of new markets for carbon unit trading by both public and private sectors.

Additionally, the Glasgow Climate Pact cites several areas of cooperation relevant to Iraq, including the need to boost funding for diverse climate technologies and a stronger commitment to capacity building. “Iraq is a country vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change – one of the most vulnerable in the region and indeed the world. We are grateful to the United Nations Development Programme in Iraq for its ongoing support to climate action in Iraq, and for supporting the delegation to this important conference,” says Iraq’s Acting Minister for Environment, Dr Jassem Al-Falahi.

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Iraq and Resident Coordinator Irena Vojáčková-Sollorano emphasises the UN in Iraq’s commitment to urgent action on climate change. “Climate Change in Iraq is a severe threat to fundamental human rights and creates barriers to sustainable development. Across the UN system in Iraq, we are working on the key components of climate action – from awareness-raising and adapting to climate change, to mitigating its risks. With COP26 now done and dusted, we urge world leaders to make good on their promises, many which are critical to supporting a cleaner, safer and greener Iraq,” she says.

Resident Representative of UNDP Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad acknowledged UNDP’s role in supporting the COP26 delegation and Iraq’s formal submission of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) – the country’s central policy for driving climate action. “UNDP Iraq was proud to support the Government of Iraq’s formal submission of its NDCs, as well assisting the delegation to COP26 to ensure Iraq’s needs were firmly placed on the global agenda. Our support to the country’s fight against climate change does not end with COP26, and we look forward to continuing our work with the Government, UN partners, the international community and others to implement Iraq’s NDCs and turn the conference outcomes into tangible actions,” she says.

Source:https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/cop26-negotiations-conclude-call-urgent-climate-action-iraq-louder-ever-enar

Chevron’s Latest Oil Deal With Iraq Is One To Watch

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The newly resuscitated Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) has been authorised by the government in Baghdad to directly negotiate with U.S. oil giant, Chevron, for it to develop the long-delayed Nasiriyah oil field in the southern DhiQar province, according to several domestic news sources.

The idea of developing the 4.36 billion-barrel Nasiriyah oilfield has been mooted by a rapid succession of governments in Iraq since it was discovered by INOC in 1975. The original plan to develop the field on a standalone basis was shelved in the lead-up to the Iran-Iraq war that began in 1980 and lasted until 1988. The field eventually came on-stream in 2009 and was listed on the 2009-2010 fast-track development plan, which aimed to raise its output to at least 50,000 bpd in the first phase.

In the first half of 2009, Chevron was one of four international oil companies (IOCs), along with Italy’s ENI, Japan’s Nippon Oil, and Spain’s Repsol, to be invited to submit bids to develop the field on an engineering procurement construction (EPC) contract basis. The Japanese consortium led by Nippon Oil, and comprising Inpex, and JGC Corporation, then looked set to win the contract before negotiations broke down again.

In 2014, a serious push was made to resuscitate the development of the Nasiriyah field within the broader scope of the ‘Nasiriyah Integrated Project’ (NIP) that also included the development of adjunct lesser oil sites to the main Nassiriyah site and the construction of a 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery. Bids for this wider project were encouraged by the government-ordered changes to the original Iraq technical service contract (TSC) that were aimed at addressing the concern of many IOCs that saw the contract model as falling short of the production sharing contracts model that they preferred.

Unlike the previous contracts, the new TSC variant offered investors a share in project revenues, but only when production began, and the Oil Ministry would pay recovery costs from the date of commencement of work. This differed from the previous contract where the costs were only paid when the contractor raised production by 10 per cent. This said, investors would still have to pay 35 per cent taxes on the profit they made from the Nassiriya project, the same amount as in previous deals.

At that point in 2014, the international engineering and construction firm Foster Wheeler had already completed a front end engineering and design study for the refinery, and 12 potential bidders were on the list. These comprised: India’s Reliance Industries, Oil and Natural Gas Corp, and Essar Oil, Russia’s Rosneft, Lukoil, and Zarubezhneft, France’s Total, and Maurel & Prom, China’s CNPC, the U.S.’s Brown Energy, a Japanese joint bidding team from JGC and Tonen General, and South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction.

Given longstanding IOC concerns about legal, accounting, and financial transparency in Iraq, this 2014 initiative to develop the Nassiriyah oil field foundered. As summarised by the independent international non-governmental organisation, Transparency International (TI), in its ‘Corruption Perceptions Index’, Iraq demonstrates: “Massive embezzlement, procurement scams, money laundering, oil smuggling and widespread bureaucratic bribery that have led the country to the bottom of international corruption rankings, fuelled political violence and hampered effective state building and service delivery.”

In 2017, China relaxed its directive of the previous two years to all state-owned hydrocarbons companies to cut budgets. From the Iraqi side, this coincided with a fresh impetus for expediting as much production from the south of the country ahead of the chaos in oil supplies from the north that was likely to result (and did) from Kurdistan’s independence referendum to be held in September.

These factors then led to China’s Sinopec and PetroChina proposing a deal that would see the NIP being rolled out as part of the broader ‘Integrated South Project’ (ISP). The ISP (later rebranded as the ‘South Iraq Integrated Project’) aimed to boost output across Iraq’s southern oilfields, and also to build out related infrastructure, including pipelines, transport routes, and the construction of the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP).

“The Chinese said that they would spend US$9 billion on the [NIP-related] refinery and the first phase of developing Nassiryah but as, under the terms of Iraqi oil contracts, the Iraqis would have to pay back this cost to the Chinese from the value of oil recovered,” a source who works closely with Iraq’s Oil Ministry told OilPrice.com. “The initial reaction from the Oil Ministry was to decline the offer, and to say that the development should only cost around US$4 billion, which the Chinese in turn flatly turned down.”

The Chinese had other demands that grated on Iraq at that time as well. “China also wanted its firms to receive their costs back in a much shorter timeframe than most other similar projects,” said the source. “This meant that they were effectively asking for a per barrel remuneration fee at a 15 per cent premium to the highest maximum fee being paid to any company in Iraq for a regular crude oil producing field, which was US$6 per barrel to PetroChina for al-Ahdab,” he added. “This would mean that the Chinese would get around US$6.90 per barrel, more than [Angola’s] Sonangol for its heavy oil extraction at Najmah [US$6 per barrel] and Qairayah [US$5 per barrel] and would dwarf the US$1.49 per barrel that [Malaysia’s] Petronas was getting for the same type of field of Gharraf,” he told OilPrice.com. “China also demanded that it was given [Iraq] dinar-denominated government-backed bonds for the entire amount [US$9 billion] that could be cashed in if the development did not start to generate large amounts of oil quickly,” he underlined.

Given the negative history of dealing with China over the Nassiriyah project and the fact that Russia is occupied elsewhere in the country and the region, the U.S. might be in an unusually positive position to take a significant role in either the Nassiryah field development alone or in the broader NIP. This has been bolstered by the apparent willingness of Iraq’s de facto leader – radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr – to engage with U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia, and by the shift in tone from one key player in Iraq’s influential al-Hakim family.

Whether this shift in attitude towards doing substantial and enduring business with the U.S. across its oil, gas, and petrochemicals sectors is genuine, or whether it is just the usual games-playing by Baghdad to keep the money flowing from Washington, remains to be seen but the slew of deals signaled recently appear propitious at this stage.

Source:https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2021/11/19/chevrons-oil-deal-with-iraq-is-one-to-watch/

Qatar manufacturing sector remains buoyant in March

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A robust month-on-month double-digit jump – particularly in printing as well as in the production of food, beverages and cement – led Qatar’s manufacturing sector to expand in March 2021, according to the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA).
The country’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) saw a 1.4% monthly increase this March despite the reintroduction of certain Covid-19 related restrictions. However, on a yearly basis, the index was down 0.1%.
“The month-on-month increase in industrial production is rather reflective of the rebound in the non-oil manufacturing activities, as the vaccination drive is on the full swing,” said a market analyst with a leading investment house.
The PSA introduced IPI, a short-term quantitative index that measures the changes in the volume of production of a selected basket of industrial products over a given period with respect to a base period 2013.
The mining and quarrying index, which has a relative weight of 83.6%, saw a 0.5% increase month-on-month owing to a 0.5% expansion in the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas and 3.6% in other mining and quarrying sectors.
On a yearly basis, the index showed 0.3% jump owing to a 0.3% increase in the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas and 12.5% in other mining and quarrying sectors.
The manufacturing index, with a relative weight of 15.2%, grew 4.5% on a monthly basis in March 2021 on a 23.8% surge in printing and reproduction of recorded media, 13.4% in the production of food products, 10.9% in beverages, 10.3% in cement and other non-metallic mineral products, 8.2% in chemicals and chemical products, 2.4% in basic metals and 0.7% in rubber and plastics products; even as there was a 11.6% decline in the production of refined petroleum products.
On a yearly basis, the manufacturing index shrank 1.4% in March this year owing to a 66.2% fall in printing and reproduction of recorded media, 23.9% in the production of refined petroleum products, 11.9% in beverages, 11.5% in food products and 0.9% in chemicals and chemical products.
However, there was a 28.1% surge in the production of cement and other non-metallic mineral products, 24.4% in basic metals and 12.5% in rubber and plastics products.
Electricity, which has 0.7% weight in the IPI basket, saw its index soar 41.4% and 9.1% on a monthly and yearly basis respectively this March.
In the case of water, which has a 0.5% weight, there was a 9.9% increase month-on-month but registered a 21% shrinkage year-on-year in March 2021.

Source:https://www.gulf-times.com/story/692515/Qatar-manufacturing-sector-remains-buoyant-in-Marc

Newly awarded projects during Q3 total QR2.9bn: Ministry of Finance

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The outlay provided for various projects in the third quarter are: infrastructure and roads (QR2.62bn), sewer and drainage (QR166.9mn), parks and green areas (QR71.7mn) and miscellaneous (QR84.7mn).
According to the Ministry of Finance, the projects to be completed this year are Food Security Project, Doha Old Port and Lusail Light Rail Transit.
The work on most of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Stadia has been completed, it said.
Total expenditure on major projects increased by 9.1% compared to previous quarter. The increase was anticipated and was mainly due to large installment payments to deliver various projects, the Ministry of Finance said.
According to the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA), real GDP in Q2,2021 increased by 4% relative to Q2,2020. The non-hydrocarbon sector recorded growth of 6.2% while hydrocarbon growth stood at 0.7% in Q2-2021 compared to the same period last year.
Sectors severely hit by the pandemic in 2020 and the related Covid-19 restrictions are rebounding strongly. Hospitality, transport and storage, and wholesale and retail trade sectors were the highest performing sectors in Q2,2021.
Moreover, the manufacturing sector recorded strong y-o-y growth of 13.4% in Q2,2021 and is now back to pre-pandemic levels.
Real y-o-y growth of the hydrocarbon sector stood at 0.7% in Q2,2021 primarily driven by the completion of scheduled temporary maintenance during 2020, and the operation of the Barzan project.
Real GDP growth in the first half of 2021 was 0.8% compared to the same period in 2020, mostly driven by the nonhydrocarbon sector (+1.9%).
The growth trend is expected to continue in the second half of 2021 due to the recent easing of Covid-19 restrictions and the scheduled sporting and entertainment events. The 2.2% forecast for real GDP growth for 2021 remains unchanged, Ministry of Finance noted.

Source:https://www.gulf-times.com/story/704041/Newly-awarded-projects-during-Q3-total-QR2-9bn-Min#section_191

MoCI undersecretary opens Hospitality Qatar 2021

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Ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the hospitality and tourism sector are expected to further stimulate economic activities and open new windows of opportunities to bolster the market, which is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.1% between 2019 and 2022 to reach $1.4bn.
This was revealed on the occasion of Hospitality Qatar 2021, which was digitally inaugurated by Ministry of Commerce and Industry Undersecretary Sultan bin Rashid al-Khater in the presence of Qatar Tourism Chairman and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive HE Akbar al-Baker; Italian ambassador Alessandro Prunas; Turkish ambassador Dr Mustafa Goksu; IFP Qatar general manager Haider Mshaimesh.
Held in strategic partnership with Qatar Tourism until November 11 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC), the sixth edition of Hospitality Qatar gathered more than 170 HORECA (hotel, restaurant, café), tourism and F&B suppliers, and service providers from more than 30 countries, as well as investors and industry leaders in Qatar to explore potential investment opportunities in the Qatari hospitality and tourism market.
Mohamed al-Mahmeed, head of Tourism Investment Promotion Section at Qatar Tourism, officially opened the first day with a keynote speech addressing Qatar’s tourism and hospitality sector’s readiness to welcome fans for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and highlighted new products and services catering to visitors.
Denisa Spinkova, leading service excellence at Qatar Tourism, provided an overview of Qatar Tourism’s strategy from its approach to increasing visitor arrivals and spending, as well as infrastructure developments, particularly in hospitality. In addition, Spinkova provided an overview of the country’s new promotional campaign, and its execution across platforms.
Monday’s opening kicked off with the ‘Countdown Begins’ conference, a multi-themed conference that focuses on the tourism, hospitality, and F&B sectors, and serves as a platform for industry key players and policymakers to exchange new insights and discuss recent developments in the industry.
Further, the conference’s opening sessions featured presentations and discussions on significant industry topics including, ‘The Experience Starts from your Home Country: An Unforgettable Travel’ by Qatar Airways, ‘Hamad International Airport Strategy to Increase Customer Capacity’ by HIA, and ‘Integrating Brand Standards within the Local Context for Exceptional Design’ by Katara Hospitality.
The Certified Training Programme is back to provide industry professionals with the necessary training and knowledge for free. The first day also witnessed the start of the barista training sponsored and organised by Corona International Company. Café workers in Doha will enjoy free training in the first two days with an international barista competition to be held in the remaining days.
The ‘Destination Pavilion’ sponsored by Qatar Airways is also open to visitors and participants. Other activities during the four-day event include live cooking shows, Qatar Restaurant’s Choice Awards, Food Tech Talks by talabat, and the Food Safety and Qatar Clean trainings by Boecker.
Prunas said, “The hospitality market in Qatar is a major interest for Italian producers as reflected in the Italian pavilion, which is one of the biggest in the event.”
Christoph Hodapp from Qatar Tourism said, “Trade exhibitions like this support sector development by introducing international expertise and showcasing our business events ecosystem. As an important subsector of tourism, it helps drive awareness and investment; at Qatar Tourism, we are very glad to extend our support to MICE organisers and operators.”
Hospitality Qatar 2021 seeks to mirror the success of its previous edition, which has recorded a total of more than 11,000 visitors, said Mshaimesh.

Source:https://www.gulf-times.com/story/704090/MoCI-undersecretary-opens-Hospitality-Qatar-2021

Gov’t vows action to resolve investors’ challenges in industrial estates

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Administration Tawfiq Kreishan on Saturday called for resolving all issues related King Abdullah II and Muwaqqar industrial estates that are home to 505 investment companies, providing 19,600 jobs.

The prime minister after his visit to Mafraq Governorate, 80km northeast of Amman, has decided to form a ministerial committee to be tasked with visiting economic institutions and meeting investors to address the obstacles that face them, Kreishan said during the committee members’ visit to the two industrial estates.

The minister stressed that work is in progress to solve the problems facing businesses at King Abdullah II and Muwaqqar industrial estates, calling on investors who have problems to head to the office of the prosecutor general to file complaints. He stressed that Jordan is a state of law and all complaints will be dealt in a firm manner.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Ali highlighted the government efforts towards resolving investment-related issues, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Highlighting the noise, air pollution and emissions, Environment Minister Nabil Masarweh emphasised the necessity of using tanks, as a temporary alternative to transporting waste water to the designated destinations, as well as reducing the number of days for studying the environmental impact to 10 instead of 15 days.

For his part, Labour Minister Yousef Shamali said that all labour-related problems have been solved, according to Petra.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati expressed the government’s keenness on reducing the cost of electricity.

President of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry Fathi Al Jaghbir emphasised the importance of instilling the principle of reciprocity with regard to exports and imports, as Jordan faces difficulties in exporting to a number of countries, stressing that the problem is not only restricted to the cost of production but also access to markets.

Source:https://www.jiec.com/en/news/149/