QDB, International Trade Centre Jointly Organise a Workshop on Export Competitiveness

Doha, April 17 (QNA) - Award-winning Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) hosted a joint workshop on export competitiveness here on Wednesday. The two-day workshop held at the Hilton Hotel in Doha and jointly organised by the International Trade Centre, subsidiary organization of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UNCTAD), aims at developing best practices in export marketing and branding; export quality and standards; export packaging solutions and supply chain management workshop stretches over two days with intensive seminars presented by the qualified experts of ITC. The workshop, stretching over April 17th and 18th, includes a series of intensive seminars on four key export-related areas such as marketing and branding; export quality and standards, export packaging solutions and supply chain management. Hassan Khalifa Al Mansoori, Executive Director of Qatar Export Development Agency "TASDEER" welcomed attendees and ITC officials Ashish Shah, Head of Office for Arab Countries and Senior Coordinator for ITC President Office, Ms. Lamia Thabet, International Advisor for Export Packaging, Mr. Hong Siew LIM, Senior Adviser of Enterprise Value Chain Competitiveness, Mr. Khemraj Ramful, Senior Adviser of Export Quality Management, Ms. Lilia Naas Hachem, Business Development Manager, Project Competitiveness, and James Hao, Senior Advisor in Export and Brand Marketing. Mansour Bin Ibrahim Al Mahmoud, Chief Executive Officer of QDB said: "This is one of our key workshops this year and to that effect, we have ensured to partner with a global organization such as the ITC owing to its unmatched pedigree and track record in trade and export. We firmly believe that non-oil Qatari exporters would highly appreciate the significance of the areas we are exploring during this workshop." For his part, Hassan Khalifa Al Mansoori, Executive Director of Qatar Export Development Agency "TASDEER" said: "TASDEER aims at developing the Qatari non-oil exports and diversifying the exports of Qatar. One of our key objectives is to enhance the capacities and capabilities of the Qatari exporters for them to be aligned with global best practices. 'At TASDEER, we regularly champion initiatives and programmes with the aim of strongly developing a world-class export industry in the country. For example, we have previously organized workshops covering Trademap, GSP, Single Window System, and exporting to Morocco. We have also held a panel discussion on the Arab Free Trade Agreement in association with International Trade Centre again," he said. Elaborating Al Mansoori added, "Our Export Competitiveness workshop will help attendees identify new market opportunities. Additionally, it'll show Qatari exporters how to meet the international buyer's requirements and the regulatory environment prevalent within the importing countries. Moreover, the workshop will shed the light on techniques to maximize performance and optimize the export value chain, all of which are keys to success and to become global players." ITC officials on their part, explained the four key aspects of the workshop and demonstrated how Qatari exporters can implement each of these techniques to enhance their operations and to better understand the various nuances of international trade. Founded in 1997, Qatar Development Bank has been mandated to accelerate the economic diversity of Qatar through building a knowledge-based economy, with a focus on the private sector. QDB aims to encourage entrepreneurship and to help the private sector take advantage of Qatar's economic growth by providing end-to-end financial and non-financial services including access to capital, guarantees, advisory services and more. Initiatives from Qatar Development Bank include Al Dhameen, an indirect lending programme run in partnership with local commercial banks and the Qatar Export Development Agency (TASDEER) designed to take Qatari exports to world markets by insuring the commercial and political risk of their buyers. Qatar Development Bank is committed to carving a dynamic and productive private sector in Qatar.(QNA)