Forum Highlights Potential For Qatari-Polish Business Projects

Doha, Qatar: The 4th Qatar-Poland New Tech Forum highlighted technological collaboration between Qatar and Poland as panelists discussed commonalities between the two countries in terms of advancements during a panel discussion entitled 'Potential for Qatari-Polish business projects'.

Addressing the panel discussion, Mohammed Al Mullah, Investor Relations Specialist at investment Promotion Agency Qatar said, The Investment Promotion Agency was created with the purpose of facilitating and promoting foreign investment in Qatar.“We do this through our brand name, which is acting as the main point of contact for foreign investors such as the Polish companies we have with us today and connecting them with the network of organisations that we have in the country. We also offer other services which are free of charge which include provision of information on the business environment, the regulatory environment but also connecting companies with the stakeholders that are available in Qatar.”

When it comes to services,“we also offer something called the 'aftercare program', which is developed for the sake of supporting current foreigners located in the country and the purpose of it is basically to enhance those who are doing business in the country,” he added.

Responding to a query about the starting of operations at the new terminal in Świnoujście in Poland and at what stage the project is, Charles Meaby, Group Chief Business Development and Integration officer of QTerminals, said,“We have been looking at many opportunities around the world and the one that has come to us is in Poland. The project is developing its maturity with respect to permissions. We have signed a preliminary agreement with Port Authority and our venture partners and we are working very closely with the Polish Investment Authority there at the ARP to bring together the financing. At the same time, the port authorities are making the applications for the environmental permitting because this is a major new port facility which is located in very significant import LNG terminal.”

The closest deep water that you can get to the western side of Poland but also into the eastern side of Germany. There are millions of containers and other freight moving through this from other deep sea locations but the real principle is to reduce waste and distance to the market, and to speed up the supply chain.

He added“Building projects like this takes a lot of time and there's a lot of collaboration required with regulatory authorities. We anticipate that we can commence next year, production and the first containers can be handled in 2028.”

Laila Al Jefairi, Vice-President of Business Development at Qatar Financial Centre, said“QFC is an onshore financial center that plays a crucial role to attract investments to Qatar and to the region. Qatar is located in the heart of Middle East and the cross-border crossroads between east and West which allows QFC to provide a strategic gateway for its companies to access the Qatari market, the regional market and beyond.”

The QFC also provides and offers advantages and benefits for international businesses and international investors, as well as to start with, we provide up to 100 percent for an ownership, which means that you don't have to have a local partner and you have, you can have a full control on your business, she added. Mark Chaban, General Manager of the Customer Success Organization, CTO, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Microsoft said, Microsoft's been around here for over 20 years in Qatar and for over 30 years in Poland.

Citing an example of the FIFA World Cup, he said, FIFA World Cup was one of the largest mega events in the world that's ever taken place from a completely digital experience.“Many amazing experiences came out of it and when we launched our Poland region just in April, we took a lot of those needs and experiences over to Poland to ensure that we can replicate some of the advanced deployments that were done.”

“There are lots of commonalities between the two countries in terms of advancements in tech. But definitely super exciting space in terms of being able to import some of that tech capability,” he added. Chaban also discussed the potential for Polish companies in the Qatar market, especially cloud computing an AI. Grzegorz Chuchra, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Tedee discussed how the business sector and government can elevate the competitive edge to compete with the competitive players. He also highlighted the ways in which the entrepreneurs can reach both the Qatari and Polish market The forum also saw experts exchanging ideas at other panel discussions namely, Data Imperative in the Oil & Gas Industry; Sustainability, Digital Transformation, Renewables, Carbon Capture and Storage; and Safeguarding our World with Emerging Tech: Cyber, Aerial, and AI Frontiers.

MENAFN27092023000063011010ID1107150259