Qatar - National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce

Celebrating Milestones – from page 1
Guided by the Qatar National Vision
(QNV) 2030, the emirate is building a
knowledge-based economy on four pillars:
social, economic, human and environmental
development. QNV outlines how Qatar “must
target growth rates that are compatible with
its capacity for real economic expansion.
Sustainable development is a process that seeks
to meet the needs of the present generation
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs. The rights
of future generations would be threatened if
the depletion of non-renewable resources were
not compensated by the creation of new sources
of renewable wealth.”
H.H. Sheikh Hamad’s vision for Qatar has
not gone unnoticed by the rest of the world,
thanks in large part to his pioneering and
wide-reaching initiatives. The 1995 establishment
of the non-profit Qatar Foundation for
Education, Science and Community Development,
chaired by First Lady H.H. Sheikha
Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, has brought
world-class scholars, educators, and international
students to Education City in Doha.
Launched in 1998 as the Qatar Foundation’s
flagship project, Education City is considered
With a fleet of 54 LNG carrying vessels, Qatar owns about 20 percent of the
world’s total LNG fleet
a landmark in educational development in the
region. It houses six renowned American
universities, including the Weill Cornell Medical
Center (see pages 10-11), Qatar Science &
Technology Park, and the soon-to-be-opened
Sidra Medical and Research Center.
Al Jazeera, the most influential and widelyviewed
television channel in the Arab world,
was established by H.H. Sheikh Hamad in
1996. Today, AlJazeera and its English-language
network, which went on the air in 2006,
broadcast to more than 220 million households
in over 100 countries. In 2004, the Qatar
Foundation organized the globally televised
Doha Debates (see page 17). Another “first”
for the Arab world, the Doha Debates allow
open dialogue among Arab youth on key
political issues.
Such mega-achievements in the world of
international sports, art, humanitarian assistance,
energy, and diplomacy have created a
significant global footprint for a nation of
fewer than two million residents. As the first
Arab nation to host the Asian Games (2006),
Qatar annually hosts 27 regional and international
world-class sporting events in golf,
tennis, soccer, and cycling. Its newly opened
“Mathaf” Museum is the first Arab Museum
of Modern Art and moves Qatar one step
closer to its goal of becoming the cultural hub
of the Middle East. (See page 13.)
H.H. Sheikh Hamad’s regional diplomacy
and Qatar’s critical role in mediating political
conflicts in Africa and the Middle East – Yemen
(2007), Lebanon (2008 and 2010), Sudan and
Chad (2009), to name just a few – has brought
the world closer to Qatar. So have Qatar’s
wide array of international events and conferences
– such as the Tribecca Film Festival,
and the Doha Round of the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
In the same spirit, Qatar was recently selected
to host the 8th World Chambers
Congress (WCC), in 2013.
Held every two years under the
auspices of the International
Chamber of Commerce, the
WCC is the only international
forum for chamber of commerce
leaders to share best-practices
and learn about new areas of
i n novat ion f rom ot her
chambers. And in January 2011,
Doha hosted the Seventh Forum
for the Future, a three-day
conference promoting dialogue
between the Group of Eight
(G8) nations and the countries
of the Broader Middle East and
North Africa (BMENA).
As Qatar looks forward to hosting the 2022
World Cup, it also faces a daunting task –
building the infrastructure necessary for such
a world-class event in little more than a decade.
According to Dao Le, Senior Commercial
Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Doha, the
budget for nine new and three reconstructed
stadiums alone amounts to approximately
three billion dollars.
Qatar plans to spend some $100 billion in
infrastructure projects between now and the
2022 Games. In remarks before the National
U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce in January
2011, the head of Qatar’s Public Works
The New Doha International
Airport (NDIA)
Authority (Ashghal) pledged that Qatar’s
unprecedented construction boom will now
be accelerated in preparation for the games.
“We are looking forward to all the different
entities within the United States participating
in this development of infrastructure in Qatar,”
said H.E. Nasser Ali Al-Mawlawi, President
of Ashghal.
“Qatar has a date with history
in the summer of 2022.”
H. H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani
“We acknowledge that there is a lot of work
to do,” said H.H. Sheikh Hamad, Qatar’s
Emir. “We stand by our promise and we will
honor the sacred trust given to us. We will
make sure this [2022 World Cup] is a milestone
in the history of the Middle East and in the
history of FIFA.”
Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Bid
Package Expenditure
Source: Commercial Section of U.S. Embassy in Qatar
“Shooting for the Goal”
Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup
Bid Expenditures
“The 2022 Gold Rush has begun and
excitement in Doha is now at a fever pitch,”
said David Hamod, President and CEO
of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of
Commerce. “This is a remarkable opportunity
for U.S. companies, but given the
intense competition that American firms
will face from all over the world, winning
major projects will not be a cakewalk.”
12 NUSACC • www.nusacc.org