France is currently the second destination for public and private Qatari investments, which amounts to more than $22bn, French Minister of State for Foreign Trade Matthias Fekl has said.
Speaking at the ‘3rd Investment Majiles’, organised yesterday by the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), in co-operation with the French embassy in Doha, Fekl described as “impressive” the economic ties between Qatar and France, which he said “have increased quickly.”
“Over the last five years, our bilateral trade has doubled; 120 French companies are currently working in Qatar and 5,000 French citizens live in your country,” he said.
Citing the joint investment fund established in 2014 between Qatar Holding and CDC International Capital, Fekl said the partnership aims to channel investments to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France.
“An important share of these innovations has been coming from SMEs that are keen to develop partnerships with Qatari companies, and I encourage the private sector of our two countries to work in that direction.
The minister also said Qatar could play a role in France’s national objective to welcome 100mn tourists by 2020. As many as 85mn tourists were welcomed in France last year.