The Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall welcomed His Excellency Ahmad Al-Sayed, Minister of State and Chairman of Qatar Free Zones Authority for a discussion on Qatar’s innovative Free Zones.

The virtual event “How Qatar’s Free Zones are Expanding Trade, Tech and Diplomacy in the Middle East”, focused on the impact of the Qatar Free Zones on the U.S.-Qatar business and investment relationship, Qatar’s role in 21st century global economic integration, geostrategic characteristics of Qatar important to financial markets and foreign investors, COVID-19 recovery plans, and major developments in the Qatar Free Zones international ecosystem.

H.E. the Minister of State and Chairman of QFZA, also highlighted many incentives that Qatar offers to investors when starting their projects or businesses in the country. These include benefiting from trade ties with different countries, and bilateral investment protection agreements, double tax agreements and free trade agreements, which give foreign investors a competitive advantage. This is in addition to the right to properties ownership and labor laws that allow maintaining good technical expertise and skills in Qatar, and which will eventually contribute to attracting investments and the success of their operations.

H.E. also emphasized the attractive investment benefits offered by Qatar Free Zones to registered companies such as tax exemptions, exceptional services and modern facilities, in addition to the partnership opportunities with large companies in the country to maximize production benefits.

In the framework of attracting investments, H.E. praised the vital role of Doha Venture Capital (DVC) – the investment platform of QFZA – in attracting SMEs in strategic sectors, particularly companies developing advanced technologies, to take advantage of the growth opportunities in Qatar, the MENA region and the world.

Finally, H.E. Chairman Al-Sayed discussed the vital importance of the U.S.-Qatar alliance as a key driver of development across sectors benefiting both partners and global stakeholders, including: COVID-19 recovery, science and technology, economics improved standards of living, defense and security, education, research and development, and ongoing collaborations in essential STEM, medical, food security, and sustainability projects.

Watch the full webinar here.