Algiers, November 02 (QNA) – President of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACI) Tayeb Chaibab underlined that the inauguration the Algerian-Qatari Steel by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and HE President of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and the launch of the Algerian-Qatari-German Hospital project, constitute a new confirmation of the two brotherly countries’ keenness to upgrade the strategic partnership to broader horizons.
In an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Chaibab said that the economic relations between Qatar and Algeria have entered the stage of strategic partnership through these important projects, which has a significant meaning to both countries that are linked by cooperation ties at various levels.
In recent years, Qatar and Algeria have tended towards building strategic economic partnerships, which encourages the private sector in both countries to pump more joint investments in vital sectors that serve the interests of the two brotherly countries, Chaibab added.
He indicated that the new Qatari projects in Algeria, currently underway implementation, confirm the special relationship between the two countries, which has witnessed remarkable growth since 2014, and was reinforced by the mutual visits of the leaders of the two countries and senior officials.
He stressed that the distinguished relations between the two countries give a strong impetus to economic cooperation, looking forward to a stronger cooperation that rises to the level of the distinguished political relations.
On the other hand, President of the Algerian Chamber Tayeb Chaibab praised the huge and qualitative leaps achieved by the Qatari economy thanks to the wise vision of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani; stressing that the Qatari economy has proven strength and resilience in the face of the crises that hit world’s economies in the past few years.
In this context, Chaibab stressed the importance of benefiting from the Qatari economic experience, and the continuous communication with Qatari investors to exchange expertise and experience in the economic field.
He pointed out that Qatar is the largest Arab investor in Algeria amounting to more than 74% of the total Arab investments, noting that the Qatari investments cover vital and important sectors for both countries such as the steel industry, communications and cooperation in the health field.
He pointed to expected partnerships between the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its counterpart in Qatar, looking forward to intensifying meetings to initiate these partnerships.
Chaibab said that the Qatari-Algerian Business Council has become one of the bilateral cooperation mechanisms resulting in several meetings in the past months, wishing that the council would be more effective in the future.
He noted that Algeria is the gateway to Africa, a market which importance cannot be underestimated, as well as to the European market.
Meanwhile, the President of the Algerian Chamber highlighted the importance of the direct flight route between the two countries, which plays a pivotal role in developing the bilateral economic relations, looking forward to activating the maritime route as well to facilitate commercial transactions.
Chaibab pointed to the successful Qatari investments in Algeria, such as the pioneering Bellara plant of the Algerian Qatari Steel, which will see a significant leap with the opening of Gara Djebilet project to provide raw materials for the steel industry.
He expressed his country’s aspiration to raise the levels of trade relations in the next few years.
He said the volume of trade exchange between the two countries is about $40 million, which does not clearly reflect the level of the very good relations, so it is necessary to search for beneficial joint investments.
The President of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACI) considered that the new Algerian investment law is a tool to increase the volume of investments, which opens up prospects for Qatari businessmen to invest in many sectors in Algeria with an ownership percentage of up to 100%, in addition to partnership with their Algerian counterparts in other sectors.
He invited Qatari businessmen to invest in agriculture and the food manufacturing industry as a special priority, in addition to the petrochemical industries and tourism, and to benefit from the advantages of the new investment law.
In conclusion of his statements to QNA, President of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACI) Tayeb Chaibab praised Qatar’s preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 as exceptional, stressing his confidence in achieving an unprecedented success for the tournament.
(QNA)