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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
UK has started formal steps for a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the six GCC countries as a block and a deal is possible by the end of this year, British Ambassador to Qatar HE Jonathan Wilks has said.
Talking to Qatar Tribune about the impact of Brexit on Qatar-UK trade relations, Wilks said, “The UK will be reviewing its trade and investment relationships with its partner countries in the GCC to see if there is a possible deal to be made on free trade agreement.”
“The most important thing to say about this is that for the UK, after the EU, the USA and China, the GCC is the next biggest exports market. So the GCC market as a whole is very, very important to the UK,” Wilks told Qatar Tribune on the sidelines of the ongoing British Food Festival organised by the Lulu Group.
“There is a lot of work underway at the moment and consultation is shortly about to start on new trade arrangements, which will be a free-trade agreement. We are looking to complete this review of trade and investment relations and then look whether we can do some free trade agreements between the UK and the GCC by the end of this year,” he said.
“Our trade with GCC as a whole is very strong and we would like to see all six member countries of GCC united as our trading partner,” he said.
Speaking about the growing trade ties with Qatar, Wilks said, “The overall trade between the UK and Qatar especially in the food sector is going up despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The trade volume between the two countries increased to seven billion pounds last year. This shows the huge interest to strengthen trade and investment relations in both countries. We are always ready to help Qatar with its food security.”
Besides importing huge volumes of food products from the UK, the envoy said, Qatar can also benefit from British technology to achieve the goals of food security.
“Many British firms are ready to share their expertise and technology with Qatari firms working in the agriculture sector. We already have British experts specialising in vertical agriculture working here in Qatar. We expect more joint ventures to help Qatar carry out its food security programmes successfully,” the envoy said.
There is also an agreement between the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in Qatar and the Ministry of Agriculture in the UK in this regard, he said.
The envoy said that the UK is looking for more opportunities to increase its exports to Qatar to further boost trade between the two countries.
Wilks revealed that a large business delegation from the UK is expected to visit Qatar as soon as the COVID-related restrictions are over.
He said that many British firms are interested to take part in projects related to defence, security and cyber alongside the FIFA World Cup preparation.
Healthcare, education and energy and financial services are other areas where British firms could offer their expertise in Qatar, he said.
There are a lot of opportunities in the areas of e-commerce and fintech as well between the two countries, he said.
“We want our businesses to be directly connected with their Qatari counterparts to boost co-operation in various economic sectors,” Wilks said.
Asked about the growing interest among people to visit and invest in UK’s real estate sector, the envoy said, “We have to be careful. The UK has succeeded in its vaccine rollout and we have to make sure that we don’t import any of the variants of concern. So, we’re looking at the data, and as the data improves then we can slowly and carefully make travel easier.”
“We know that lots of Qatari investors and property owners want to come to the UK, so the most important thing is to continue with the vaccine rollout and that we are careful with all the measures we know that are necessary, such as social distancing and the wearing of masks. Hopefully, through this year the situation will improve,” the envoy said.
Doha
UK has started formal steps for a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the six GCC countries as a block and a deal is possible by the end of this year, British Ambassador to Qatar HE Jonathan Wilks has said.
Talking to Qatar Tribune about the impact of Brexit on Qatar-UK trade relations, Wilks said, “The UK will be reviewing its trade and investment relationships with its partner countries in the GCC to see if there is a possible deal to be made on free trade agreement.”
“The most important thing to say about this is that for the UK, after the EU, the USA and China, the GCC is the next biggest exports market. So the GCC market as a whole is very, very important to the UK,” Wilks told Qatar Tribune on the sidelines of the ongoing British Food Festival organised by the Lulu Group.
“There is a lot of work underway at the moment and consultation is shortly about to start on new trade arrangements, which will be a free-trade agreement. We are looking to complete this review of trade and investment relations and then look whether we can do some free trade agreements between the UK and the GCC by the end of this year,” he said.
“Our trade with GCC as a whole is very strong and we would like to see all six member countries of GCC united as our trading partner,” he said.
Speaking about the growing trade ties with Qatar, Wilks said, “The overall trade between the UK and Qatar especially in the food sector is going up despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The trade volume between the two countries increased to seven billion pounds last year. This shows the huge interest to strengthen trade and investment relations in both countries. We are always ready to help Qatar with its food security.”
Besides importing huge volumes of food products from the UK, the envoy said, Qatar can also benefit from British technology to achieve the goals of food security.
“Many British firms are ready to share their expertise and technology with Qatari firms working in the agriculture sector. We already have British experts specialising in vertical agriculture working here in Qatar. We expect more joint ventures to help Qatar carry out its food security programmes successfully,” the envoy said.
There is also an agreement between the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in Qatar and the Ministry of Agriculture in the UK in this regard, he said.
The envoy said that the UK is looking for more opportunities to increase its exports to Qatar to further boost trade between the two countries.
Wilks revealed that a large business delegation from the UK is expected to visit Qatar as soon as the COVID-related restrictions are over.
He said that many British firms are interested to take part in projects related to defence, security and cyber alongside the FIFA World Cup preparation.
Healthcare, education and energy and financial services are other areas where British firms could offer their expertise in Qatar, he said.
There are a lot of opportunities in the areas of e-commerce and fintech as well between the two countries, he said.
“We want our businesses to be directly connected with their Qatari counterparts to boost co-operation in various economic sectors,” Wilks said.
Asked about the growing interest among people to visit and invest in UK’s real estate sector, the envoy said, “We have to be careful. The UK has succeeded in its vaccine rollout and we have to make sure that we don’t import any of the variants of concern. So, we’re looking at the data, and as the data improves then we can slowly and carefully make travel easier.”
“We know that lots of Qatari investors and property owners want to come to the UK, so the most important thing is to continue with the vaccine rollout and that we are careful with all the measures we know that are necessary, such as social distancing and the wearing of masks. Hopefully, through this year the situation will improve,” the envoy said.
