Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) participated in the Transport Logistics Exhibition in Germany, the world’s most important trade fair attracting more than 60,000 visitors and 2,100 exhibitors from around 123 countries.

During the exhibition, H.E. Ahmad Al Sayed, Minister of State and Chairman of QFZA was interviewed by Sebastian Reimann, Editor in Chief of DVZ, the leading German logistics publication and took place on the famous “Red Sofa”.

The Chairman highlighted Qatar’s evolving logistics landscape and addressed logistics service providers from the DACH region, saying that “the new state of the art Free Zones are able to drive sustainable growth for all investors with the desire to enhance their global supply chains with us.”

He invited regionally active and innovative players from the logistics industry to visit Qatar and be part of its newly established Free Zones.

The growing logistics sector in Qatar presents European companies with new and exciting opportunities to build partnerships in Doha and expand to new markets. Europe is home to a very diverse logistics industry with an estimated number of up to 770,000 LSPs in this sector. The overall volume of logistics expenditures within the whole European region is estimated at a staggering €1,050 Bn. (QAR 4,308 Bn.) The corresponding volumes for the three logistics hot spots of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, are €259 Bn.

Germany is ranked the number one logistics country in the world (with Austria ranked no. 4 /2018 and Switzerland ranked no. 11 /2016) and is home to some of the most innovative logistics global players and SMEs as well as it is one of Qatar´s Major Trading Partners. Austria is the doorstep to the eastern European regions and the Middle East while Switzerland is home to renowned logistics key players such as K&N, Panalpina, Agility, CEVA.

The DACH countries are regarded as key markets to attract investors. During the Transport Logistics Exhibition, the four-day trade fair which took place last week, high level meetings with leading logistics service providers provided an invaluable opportunity to raise awareness of Qatar’s two brand new free zones within the transport industry.

The Qatar Free Zones Authority is also participating in Qatar’s pavilion at the 23rd edition of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2019, which began in Russia’s Konstantin Palace, on Thursday. The forum provides an opportunity to discuss the incentives QFZA has to offer including 100% foreign ownership, zero customs duties and a business friendly regulatory framework.