Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning and welcome to one of the Qatari events in Canada. It is my great honour and pleasure to address you in the fourth anniversary of establishing the representation office of Doha Bank in Toronto.
I do thank my colleague Dr. Seetharaman the CEO of Doha Bank who gave me this opportunity to highlight the importance of the bilateral relations between Qatar and Canada, as well as the recent developments in the Gulf region.
Qatar and Canada relations have witnessed positive steps forward and I’m confident that they will continue to grow in a positive and productive manner. The number of Canadian citizens living and working in Qatar reaches 9000, and we have now more than 110 Canadian companies operating in Qatar. In addition, College of North Atlantic and University of Calgary Nursing School are operating in Doha for more than a decade. Also, four Qatari ministers have visited Canada recently including the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority. We are working together with our colleagues at the federal and provincial level to overcome the difficulties and promote the two ways trade and investments.
Ladies and gentlemen, four months ago three of our neighbouring countries have imposed measures of economic siege, for merely baseless pretexts, to undermine Qatar’s position as an economically independent and sovereign State. However, Qatari economy have adapted quickly to the new circumstances.
With the determination of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar, Qatari citizens and all peoples who live in Qatar, we have been able to break the siege by activating the strategies and pre-emptive plans that have been in place for many years to address any local, regional or global crises. These efforts maintained the daily life in Qatar by finding alternative markets to the supplies we used to import from the blockade states. In fact after the imposition of the illegal blockade, Qatar has strengthened its power, economic security and independence more than ever before, and succeeded in establishing alternative trade routes with a number of strategic areas around the world.
I would like to highlight the IMF’s recent report which affirmed that Qatari banking sector remains strong, with high quality assets and strong capitalization. Qatar remains one of the most attractive markets for investors.
Qatar benefited from Hamad International Airport and Qatar Airways, to ensure air traffic and goods’ flow at a normal pace for more than 150 destinations around the world. Moreover, Qatar has officially launched Hamad Sea Port one month ago, which comes as part of a broader strategy aimed to ensuring the continued flow of alternative consumers’ goods and products to local markets at the same level as before the crisis. We do believe that this project will make the State of Qatar an important commercial hub in the region for import and export.
Qatar has provided non-Qatari investors with the opportunity to establish investment projects in a variety of economic fields, thus Qatari private sector in cooperation with foreign investors have benefited from the investment opportunities available in these fields, which contributed to the growth of non-oil sectors, with a greater focus on diversification of economic activity.
I would invite our Canadian friends to avail these promising opportunities in particular the new projects of World Cup 2022 and launch their investments in the State of Qatar.
Recent measures introduced by our government aim to support continued investment and promote incentives for private companies and international investors who are looking to expand their business in the region.
Let me conclude by saying that Doha Bank’s offices in Toronto have a vital role in building bridges of communication between business leaders in various countries.
And this event is a business forum that brings together government officials and major multinational companies to promote trade and investment in both Qatar and Canada.

Thank you very much