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The Peninsula
Doha: The upcoming SelectUSA Investment Summit is an opportunity to advance the already roaring economic relationship between Qatar and the US, H E Ambassador Timmy T Davis has said.
SelectUSA Investment Summit is the top event in the United States to promote foreign direct investment (FDI), connecting investors, companies, economic development organisations (EDOs), and industry experts to seize opportunities to make investment deals.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar (AYCMQ) Earth Talk event, Ambassador Davis said the US embassy in Qatar had engaged businessmen and women, ministries as well as entities in the US to make sure as many people as possible attend SelectUSA, set to take place in Washington on May 1-4.
“We've talked to all the relevant ministries here. But most importantly, we have talked to entities in the United States because the important part of this is that we understand that there are things that entrepreneurs here in Qatar don't know about investing in the United States. At the same time, cities and states in the US, there are things they don't know about investment in Qatar,” Davis said.“We've done a lot of work to ensure that the right people show up at SelectUSA so that everyone's time is used in the best way possible to advance an economic relationship that we think is already roaring. We want it to be good for individual business people, businesswomen, and for opportunities to be apparent.”
Ambassador Davis also disclosed that SMEs remain the backbone of the US economy, a trait he says is inherent in Qatar, as noted in QNV 2030.
According to data, Qatar's SMEs represent 97% of registered private sector companies and contribute 16% to non-oil gross domestic product (GDP). In the US, official reports state that there are 33.2 million small businesses in America, accounting for 99.9% of all US businesses.
“The United States economy thrives traditionally because of small businesses. It's not massive corporations that provide the foundation for our economy. It's small and medium enterprises,” the envoy stressed.
“When Qatar Vision 2030 talks about a knowledge-based economy, agricultural technology and ICT, they're talking about bringing small and medium businesses so that there's a foundation here that goes beyond energy. And so it's not massive investment either way that's going to be the future of the US economy or the Qatari economy; it's going to be small and medium enterprises and those partnerships between entrepreneurs that actually build a foundation for a sustainable economy,” he added.
He also said the Foreign Commercial Service team at the US Embassy constantly works with Qatari business people to identify opportunities and educate them on US laws and how US corporations are built.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Davis also lauded Qatar's commitment to sustainability and combating climate change. He highlighted General Motors' latest launch of electric vehicles in Qatar, adding that Qatar has been a leader in managing climate change.“As the world transitions away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, Qatar is trying to be part of that solution and take the lead. So, having electric vehicles here makes sense. That General Motors identified Qatar as a place where electric vehicles would do well is just a signal that Qatar has already demonstrated that managing climate change is a priority for them.”