Under the Patronage of HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry in Qatar, H.E. Abdallah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, the Third Qatar Economic Forum was launched at the Sheraton Doha Hotel and Resorts on Monday, June 1, 2009 with the attendance of over 800 top officials, business leaders and experts from Qatar and other Gulf and Arab countries.

The Forum concluded its sessions on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 and was organized by the Qatar Ministry of Business and Trade and Al-Iktissad Wal- Aamal Group in partnership with the Qatari Businessmen Association and Qatar Financial Centre.

The heavy participation at the Forum reflected an intense interest on the part of the Arab and international business and financial community in the fast paced development of the Qatari economy, the wide range of investment opportunities that it offers, and the welcoming investment environment.

During the opening, the Forum organizers presented Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Life Achievement Award for Qatar to honor:

• Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) through two of its leaders, Mr. Tawfiq Khoury and Mr. Samer Khoury.
• H.E. Sheikha Hanadi Nasser Bin Khaled Al Thani, CEO, “Al Waab City” Real State Development Project, Qatar
• H.E. Abdallah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar

The Forum included five sessions in addition to the opening that discussed the following topics:

• Dealing with the Next Phase of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis: Assessment of the crisis and its latest developments; Lessons learned from the crisis; Expectations on the future course of the crisis; Options available to countries of the region for facing up to implications of the crisis and sustaining their development course.
• Trends in the Banking Industry in Qatar and the Gulf: Outlook of the banking sector in Qatar and GCC in light of the global crisis; Is there a need for new government initiatives to help ease any further repercussions of the crisis on banks? How to deal with the contraction in bank financing in the region? How will the crisis impact Qatar's position as a regional banking center?
• Partnership Opportunities and Strategies: The rationale of Qatar's partnership with the world; How to achieve the partnership and its impact on the Qatari economy; Current opportunities in Qatar.
• Investment Outlook of Global and Regional Markets: Trends and expectations in the global markets in the coming phase; Expected trends in regional financial markets; Factors that will impact the performance of regional financial markets in the coming phase.
• The New Fundamentals of Property Markets in Qatar and the Gulf: The impact of the global crisis on the real estate markets in Qatar and the region and expected near-term developments; Status of mega development projects; Drivers of supply and demand in the next phase; Selected investment opportunities in the real estate sector.

Download English Synopsis (39Kb)
Download Arabic Synopsis (91Kb)