Mayor of London Inaugurates British Chamber of Commerce Office in Doha

Doha, January 28 (QNA) - The Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Alan Yarrow inaugurated Tuesday the British Chamber of Commerce office in Doha to promote trade between the State of Qatar and the United Kingdom, and help the Qatari and British companies strengthen their investments in both countries. HE the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Qatar Nicholas Hopton and a host of Qatari businessmen attended the inauguration ceremony at the British Chamber of Commerce office last night. Addressing the ceremony, the Lord Mayor of London Alderman Alan Yarrow said that it is the best time to start new business in the State of Qatar in light of the economic growth which the country was witnessing, and the latest numbers which showed an increase in the trade exchange between the two countries of 40% than last year. Launching an office for the British Chamber of Commerce in Doha will support and develop the small and medium enterprises amidst strong trade relations between the two countries, the Mayor underlined, noting that Britain's experience in this field can benefit the small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs in the State of Qatar. The Mayor said that the meetings he had held with the Qatari officials during his visit reflects the depth of bilateral relations, and looked forward to further development of cooperation ties between the two countries. For his part, the Managing Director at the British Chamber of Commerce Office in Doha Peter Cook said that the establishment of the British Chamber of Commerce Qatar comes at a time when the Qatari investments are increasing in the United Kingdom. Thanks to the big support provided by the two governments and the Qatar Chamber, the British Chamber of Commerce in Doha will become one of the leading authorities to support business in the country, and to offer a wide range of business services to facilitate and accelerate the work of the small and medium-sized companies towards success in the world of business in Qatar. In addition to its office in Qatar, the British Chamber of Commerce has 70 branches around the world. Cook underlined that the new office will focus on bolstering business and projects between the two countries, especially the small and medium enterprises, as well as providing support for the already established business between Qatar and Britain. Trade between the State of Qatar and the United Kingdom reached nearly 19 billion Qatari riyals (5.2 billion dollars) in 2013. Qatar's exports to the UK amounted to nearly 14 billion Qatari riyals (3.9 billion dollars), while total the value of imports reached nearly 5 billion riyals (1.4 billion dollars). There are 79 British companies operating the Qatari market in the fields of oil and gas, infrastructure and information technology. (QNA)