Sheikh Khalid bin Thani al-Thani has organised a lunch event at his Majlis in honour of the visit of Lord Stephen Green, the United Kingdom’s Minister of Trade and Investment; John Hawkins, the British ambassador to Qatar; Edward Oakden and Nick Whittingham, from UK Trade and Investment and Mark Ellam, director of UK Trade & Investment at the British embassy. Lord Green was elected in May 2010 as deputy president of the Confederation of British Industry, and in the same year he was elected vice-chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was attended by QBA first deputy chairman, Hussein Alfardan, QBA board members Abdallah al-Misnad and Sherida Saad al-Kaabi, and QBA member Nasser Sulieman al-Haidar. Lord Green thanked QBA members for their warm welcome, and stated that his visit was aimed to exchange views on enhancing economic relations and seeking investment opportunities to increase bilateral trade between the two countries. This visit comes as a complement to previous high-level official visits between Qatar and the UK, the most notable of which was the visit of the Emir HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser to the UK in 2010, followed by the visit of Prime Minister David Cameron in February 2011. Sheikh Khalid bin Thani al-Thani welcomed the delegates to Doha and expressed the interest of Qatari businessmen in the British market, and their desire to strengthen the economic relations between the two countries. Hussein Alfardan also mentioned that the projects that Qatar is planning to undertake, after winning the honour of hosting the 2022 World Cup, will allow British companies to strengthen their presence in the Qatari market and in the region. Qatar and UK relations are witnessing a rapid growth, with an increase in bilateral trade between the two countries surpassing £3bn in 2010, as well as a 90% increase in the first four months of 2011 compared to the same period of 2010. Qatar is also the UK’s third largest export partner in the Gulf region, and the fourth in the Arab world. The two countries have witnessed the signing of several memorandums of understanding on commercial and technical co-operation, during the visit of HH the Emir to the UK in 2010, and a memorandum of understanding on avoidance of double taxation in 2009. Gulf Times

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