The Forum is organised by GOIC on Monday, April 27, 2015 at the St. Regis Doha Under the patronage of HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) organises “Invest in Qatar 2015” Forum in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Industry, Economic Zones Company (Manateq) and with the participation of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) and the Federation of GCC Chambers (FGCCC). The event will take place at the St. Regis Hotel Doha on the 27th and the 28th of April, 2015. GOIC Secretary General Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel stated that the patronage of HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani reflects His Excellency’s support of economic development to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030 aiming at promoting the industrial sector and developing local and foreign investments. The list of sponsors of this event includes Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC) as strategic partners, Qatar National Bank (QNB) as diamond sponsor and Aamal Company as gold sponsor. The official Arabic broadcaster is CNBC Arabia, the regional media sponsor is Al-Hayat Newspaper and the media partner is Al-Sharq Newspaper. Construction Sites (QC Sites) Magazine is the media partner for the general contracting sector in addition to the media sponsors: Al-Massira Magazine, Aamal Al-Khaleej Magazine, Ain Al-Riyadh Website and Ain Dubai Website. GOIC Secretary General said these partnerships are key to this important event. He stated: “Invest in Qatar 2015 is an opportunity for all partners to offer support to the industrial sector in their respective fields in Qatar.” Mr. Al-Ageel explained that GOIC will introduce investments opportunities prepared for Qatar’s promising industries during the Forum. These opportunities are in the areas of pharmaceuticals, green building materials, recycling, petrochemicals and aluminium. The objective is to promote Qatar’s competitiveness in the region and globally. Many Qatari, Gulf and foreign investors will take part in the forum. It will create the appropriate space for investors and entrepreneurs to get together with technology suppliers and industrial decision makers. It is worth noting that the value of local investments in joint industrial projects is approximately 29.2 billion USD, 35.4% of the total cumulative investments in manufacturing industries. As to joint Gulf factories, the share of their cumulative investments is approximately 2.4% of the total industrial investments, while Arab non-Gulf investments are valued at about 141.5 million USD. Moreover, joint foreign industrial projects were valued at approximately 16.4 billion USD in 2014 (20% of the total capital invested in manufacturing industries). Furthermore, the Forum will shed light on the broad investment environment in the State of Qatar, in addition to investment opportunities prepared by GOIC. Qatar has strong, promising, and encouraging economic prospects in the coming years. The country is indeed witnessing a remarkable industrial growth in general, accompanied with a construction boom and several key infrastructure megaprojects with big investments, particularly driven by the decision to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha. Forum Goals In an effort to attract local, Gulf and global industrial investments, Qatar offers several incentives, including preferential gas and electricity rates, customs exemptions on machinery, equipment, and industrial spare parts imports, predetermined tax cuts for corporations, customs exemptions for exports, tax-free salaries, state-of-the-art medical and education facilities and telecommunications centres. In this promising economic environment, “Invest in Qatar 2015” offers an overview on the current status of industries in Qatar, in addition to industrial developments and trends aiming at promoting the industrial sector. It also features a number of industrial investment opportunities in key promising industries in Qatar that were recently prepared by GOIC. The Forum will form a space of dialogue and discussions between industrialists, investors and decision makers in the area of industrial development. Participants will discuss challenges and opportunities for SMEs, and how can investors and entrepreneurs benefit from available programs and incentives to support the industrial sector in the State of Qatar. In addition to that, B2B meetings will be held between technology suppliers and investors willing to implement investment opportunities. The Forum will also tackle the importance of industrial subcontracting to industrial development and discuss topics like the role of economic zones in developing manufacturing industries’ supply chains and attracting foreign investments, solutions to environmental pollution caused by manufacturing industries and how to benefit from the waste recycling program. The Forum is expected to result in practical recommendations to set up industries capable of attracting foreign investments and providing job opportunities for Qataris.