In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Mr. Tohru Tsuji,
Chairman of the Japan-Qatar Friendship Association and Chairman of Marubeni Corporation
Excellencies,
Honorable audience,
I would like to thank the chairman and members of Japan-Qatar Friendship Association for organizing this meeting with a galaxy of parliamentarians, businesspersons and media representatives. And I appreciate what JQFA does to enhance relations between our two friendly peoples and countries. I would also like to praise JQFA efforts during my first visit to Japan in 1999.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We highly value the distinctive level of our relations with your friendly country, and consistently seek to further it. Japan today is a major trading partner of Qatar with nearly 45% of Qatar’s overall exports going to it and Japan being one of the three largest suppliers of Qatari needs. Most of Qatar’s exports to Japan are oil and gas, with over six million tonnes of liquid gas supplied to your country. Qatar’s imports from Japan include large quantities of important goods, such as machinery, equipment, means of transportation and electronics.
Honorable audience,
Japan is a major market for Qatari oil. We exported oil to Japan for the first time in 1951 and it was the first importer of Qatari gas early 1997. We value Japan’s effective contribution to the first liquid gas project in Qatar, which covered all stages of production, liquefaction, transport, finance and marketing.
Beside trade, our economic relations with Japan include contracting, investments and financing. Qatar appreciates the remarkable contributions made by Japanese companies for the development of Qatar’s economy. This highlights the positive trend pursued by the bilateral relations in various areas, most recently Qatar Airways launching of four weekly flights between Doha Airport and Kansai International Airport early last April. We sincerely hope that this development pace of bilateral relations will continue to serve the best interests of the two friendly peoples and countries.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The process of comprehensive reform in Qatar over the past few years has entered an important stage. Before 9/11, we embarked on taking several major steps at the level of political reform, through municipal elections and a referendum concerning the Permanent Constitution that aims to enhance democratic practice, ensure human rights, establish the rule of the law, provide women with full rights and expand their participation in public affairs.
We have also embarked on reforming and developing the educational system so that it keeps pace with modern time needs and make citizens more open to modernity. To this end, we have sought the assistance of international expertise and the experiences of advanced nations. Within this framework, Education City has been established in Doha. It comprises prestigious international branch campuses and research centers that serve not only Qatar, but also the region.
Over the past years, we have been keen to achieve a qualitative economic leap to diversify income sources, aimed at securing a balanced and competitive economy. Thanks to sound management and efficient investment policy, several productive projects based on strong economic foundations and returns have been established.
Our primary goal has been to make Qatar a major world center for gas export, through liquefying it or transporting it using pipes. We have also adopted ambitious policies for production of fertilizers and petrochemicals, and establishment of gas-intensive industries, like iron and steel mills.
These policies combined have constituted a strategy that set the foundation for high economic growth and diversity, leading to improved living standards, increased per capita income, and increasingly reduced debt service ratio.
Friends,
Our priorities include improving the investment climate, though expanded and sophisticated infrastructures, establishment of industrial cities, and review and update of trade and investment laws and regulations.
As a consequence of this development, foreign investors can now own 100% of their capital used in multiple economic sectors, in which investment is aligned with the needs and goals of sustainable development. Moreover, we seek to conclude free trade agreements with the EU and the United States to activate and invigorate trade and investment.
Thanks to these efforts, confidence in Qatar’s economy has been further consolidated, and our country could attract a galaxy of international companies, including Japanese companies, as major partners in Qatari investments, especially in oil and gas projects and manufacturing activities, which has positively reflected on Qatar’s credit rating, rising from BBB in 2000 to A+ recently. This has enabled Qatar to increase the volume of investments in new projects to over US$ 60 billion.
In this respect, we welcome Japanese corporations and investors to invest their capitals, management expertise, and technological skills, while taking advantage of Qatar’s favorable investment climate and stability.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I am confident that the establishment of the Qatar-Japan Friendship Association last year will contribute, in collaboration with your association, to the promotion of bilateral relations between our two countries.
May Allah’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.