A foreign investment roundtable held here Wednesday at Qatar Chamber as part of a joint program development between the Gulf and European sides aimed at strengthening economic relations and the removal of barriers of trade hinder exchange between the two sides.
Qatar Chamber , Federation of GCC Chambers , European Business Council , Confederation of Danish Industries and Venture Scout are taking part in the program that was held earlier in Bahrain.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Ali Hamid Al Mulla , the Assistant Secretary-General of the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) for the Industrial Projects Sector said that the foreign investment in the GCC countries rose up from $ 84 billion in 2014 to nearly $ 416 billion in 2015.
He stated that the Gulf exports of origin are enjoy full exemption from customs duties in the Arab countries, a matter which encourges foreign investor to export goods to the Arab countries without customs as well as cheap energy costs and existence of free zones for the establishment of industrial activities in the Gulf region.
Al Mulla said that the population of the Gulf is 50 million people with a per capita income of yearly $33,000, which gives an excellent investment opportunities for investors, whether Europeans or others as the Gulf economy relies on oil and gas resources , which account for about 47 per cent of gross domestic product and 22 percent of the world’s total oil reserves.
Source: Qatar news agency
