Qatar Financial Center aims to attract $ 25 billion in foreign direct investment by 2022, CEO Yousuf Al-Jaida told CNBC in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
It comes a week after Saudi Arabia re-established diplomatic ties with neighboring Qatar and ended more than three years of blockade against the small, gas-rich country.
The reconciliation means a stronger, more powerful Gulf Cooperation Council, Al-Jaida said.
“I think the impact will be positive on trade, meaning countries will work closely together,” he added.
Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, sealed land, sea and air borders with Qatar in 2017 after Doha was accused of links to terrorism. Qatar has denied those allegations.
The easing of tensions – just weeks before the end of President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House – is a major shift in the politics of the region.
Competition for GCC’s financial center
Doha competes with global financial centers in the region, including Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.
Dubai, one of the region’s transportation and tourism centers, faces new competition from Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia is trying to lure multinational corporations to the capital as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030 blueprint to diversify the kingdom’s economy.
Skyline of Doha, Qatar
Sven Hansche | EyeEm | Getty Images
Al-Jaida said Doha’s edge over his rivals is the push to develop Islamic finance and fintech, as well as financial services in general.
The financial centre’s ambitious FDI target – along with a goal of creating 10,000 new jobs and more than 1,000 businesses by 2022 – is getting a boost from the GCC detente, he said.
“From a QFC perspective, multinational corporations are located pretty much all over the GCC, and that means more liberal travel, more access to markets. It will mean more FDI for Doha. So we’re very optimistic about that,” Al- said. Jaida.
We are working on a better future for the entire region, so everyone is optimistic.
Yousuf Al-Jaida
CEO, Qatar Financial Center
The Six Nations GCC is a political, economic and social alliance that includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.
According to the World Bank, Qatar’s economy is expected to grow by 3% in 2021, making it the best of the GCC countries.
One of the world’s richest countries per capita, Qatar has also set its sights on sports. The country is slated to host the 2022 World Cup, and has submitted a request to the International Olympic Committee to participate in the “ongoing dialogue” regarding possible hosting of the 2032 Games.
Golf detente
The ties between the Gulf neighbors are deep and the blockade has left a rift that affected GCC trade.
According to Brookings Institution, flights between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors totaled 70 flights a day before the fallout. The aviation industry, badly hit by the global pandemic, will benefit significantly from the cooling down of tensions.
Before the blockade, trade flows between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were billions and millions with Bahrain, the think tank said.
Al-Jaida told CNBC that more work needs to be done to build trust between Qatar and its neighbors in the Gulf and Egypt, but “this is behind us and we are working towards a brighter future for the entire region, so everyone is optimistic. “