France Has 100 Companies Working In Qatar, French President Says

Doha, June 23 (QNA) - French President Francois Hollande said Sunday that there were around 100 French companies working in all sectors in the State of Qatar. He called on companies in his country to invest in Qatar to benefit from the economic opportunities available. Hollande, who was speaking during a meeting of Qatari and French Businessmen that was attended by HE Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, stressed the importance of creating partnership between the two countries in all fields. The French President expressed his hope that establishing the Joint Qatari-French Business Council will help advance bilateral cooperation and increase investment opportunities in both countries. He said that he came to Qatar with 46 general managers of big French companies, which he said reflected his belief that economic bilateral ties must move on to new levels. He said that France wants to take part in projects and investment opportunities in Qatar based on three principles. The first is continuity; he noted that Total has been investing in Qatar for 75 years. The second principle is technological advancement; he said that the quality of French products help improve the Qatari market. He gave an example to the contribution Airbus has been making to Qatar Airways fleet. The third principle is exchange: he said that both countries must look for investment opportunities in all fields. Just as there are French investments in Qatar, there must be Qatari ones in France, he added. The French President said that his administration was looking to establish two types of partnerships with the State of Qatar. The firs is a finance partnership: the two countries established a new fund that will be in charge of financing small and medium-scale French companies, he said. The second type of partnership will involve Qatari and French companies investing in other countries. Qatar Petroleum and Total have agreed to partner in developing petroleum activities in Congo. Hollande said that he was looking forward for French companies to increase their partnerships with its Qatari counterparts in three fields: the first is energy, the second is in developing cities and infra-structure in accordance to the Qatar National Vision 2030, while the third is in services. (QNA)