Doha, December 17 (QNA) - Qatar National Day is not merely a random commemoration, but rather a significant occasion through which all people reflect on the key milestones in the nation's state-building journey, embodying the supreme meanings of pride in the nation and the readiness it demands for sacrifice and dedication, HE Minister of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al-Thani, told Qatar News Agency (QNA).
HE Sheikh Faisal added that the State of Qatar, by the will of Allah The Almighty and the determination and vision of its sage leadership, has succeeded in charting a clear pathway to progress and comprehensive development, diligently pursuing its path until it has become a role model of growth and prosperity.
Marking this day is a commemoration of achievements that have been materializing from the era of the Founder, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, to the present day, manifesting Qatar's eminence and leadership across multiple fields, thanks to the long-standing sacrifices of its citizens, who, through their dedication and solidarity, have succeeded in establishing a national success story that all take pride in.
On this occasion, His Excellency availed himself of this opportunity to extend assurances of his highest consideration to HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, all distinguished people of Qatar, and all those who reside on this blessed nation.
The celebration under the theme: "With You It Rises, From You It Awaits", confirms the continuous nation-building path, promotes the values of patriotism for this beloved nation and its leadership, which has made investment in humans a priority to build the State of Qatar as all people wish, the Minister underlined.
Sheikh Faisal further noted that this day is marked by a renewed pledge for people to be honest with their tenets, adherent to unity, and working diligently to uphold the banner of the nation in their pursuit to realize ambitions to attain a more prosperous future that ensures the present and future of the generations.
By virtue of the ambitious vision of the prudent leadership, the national economy has moved full steam ahead, providing an attractive commercial and industrial environment through advancing legislative and regulatory frameworks that keep up with global realignments, he pointed out.
The Minister further remarked that these frameworks help incentivize business growth and broaden innovation and entrepreneurship prospects, as well as enhance the attraction of domestic and foreign investments.
He asserted that the Ministry is working to strengthen economic diversification efforts and build a knowledge-based economy, as well as empower the private sector to be a key driver of sustainable economic growth in accordance with Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV2030) and the Third National Development Strategy (NDS3), in pursuit of promoting a fair and competitive business climate and deepening the principles of transparency and equal opportunities in the market.
These efforts, Sheikh Faisal said, would support national industries, elevate the qualities of commodities and services, in addition to shoring up digital transformation to create more competitive economic sectors capable of contributing to achieving self-sufficiency and promoting exports.
The comprehensive economic resurgence and progress in a variety of areas the nation is witnessing today manifests the strength of national will and clear-eyed vision, a stage for achieving further milestones and moving ahead along the pathway toward building a future for a nation that confidently pivots toward entrepreneurship, thanks to the determination and sacrifices of the hardworking people, as well as the integrated efforts of the public and private sectors, Sheikh Faisal stressed.
On the Ministry's achievements throughout 2025, he recalled that an amalgamation of critical initiatives have been launched with the intent of augmenting economic diversity and fostering the public-private sectors partnership, in addition to supporting small and medium enterprises, driving the momentum of digital transformation and smart technologies in industries, working on integrating sustainable development practices across various sectors, enhancing the protection of intellectual property, raising performance efficiency, and improving the quality of institutional work and services provided.
This comes as part of the Ministry's efforts to propel the nation's Sustainable Development Goals, achieve balanced and inclusive economic growth, in line with QNV2030, and in integration with NDS3, the Minister noted.
The Minister further indicated that the Ministry has accorded great attention to bolstering the capabilities of the industrial sector, developing its productivity and competitiveness, and raising its contribution to the GDP, which reached approximately QAR 27 billion in the first half of 2025, while the total cumulative investment in the industrial sector exceeded QAR 270 billion.
He noted the meteoric rise in the number of domestically manufactured products, reaching 2,135 national products in the third quarter of 2025, compared with 2,015 products in the third quarter of 2024.
The volume of non-hydrocarbon industrial exports until the third quarter of 2025, Sheikh Faisal noted, amounted to roughly QAR 29.8 billion, while the readiness of 30 factories was assessed under the Smart Industry Readiness Index.
Sheikh Faisal issued a decision to adopt the Qatari Technical Regulation on the shelf life of food products, aiming to ensure the safety and quality of food products circulated in the local market through adopting scientifically based shelf-life periods in line with modern global standards.
The Ministry also launched the National Product e-platform on its website, which aims to provide a fair competitive environment and enhance the quality of national products, he clarified.
Regarding the improvement of the business environment, Sheikh Faisal elucidated that the Ministry works in lockstep with partners in government agencies and the private sector to create an enabling business environment based on transparency, competitiveness, and speed of delivery, aligning with the aspirations of investors and entrepreneurs.
This move contributed to Qatar entering, for the first time, the top ten countries in the Global Competitiveness Ranking, achieving ninth globally in the Global Competitiveness Report 2025, and fifth globally in the Business Efficiency Index.
Regarding the public-private partnership (PPP) work, the Ministry implemented innovative initiatives to foster public-private collaboration in 2025, with a dedicated electronic platform launched to showcase the PPP program on the Ministry's official portal, the Minister clarified.
He added that these initiatives intend to empower investors and entrepreneurs to identify available projects and opportunities, follow updates on partnership initiatives, and review the regulations and operational mechanisms governing PPP in accordance with Law No. 12 of 2020.
The first phase of the tender for the West Bay Beaches and Al Safliya Island Development Project under the PPP model was also launched, Sheikh Faisal remarked, highlighting that the venture aims to transform the West Bay beaches and Al Safliya Island into a comprehensive waterfront tourism destination.
Alongside, a tender was launched for the allocation of four plots of land for the construction and operation of private schools under the PPP system, the Minister said.
He added that 12 PPP project opportunities were studied in 2025, representing an increase of six projects compared to 2024, reflecting the expansion of partnership projects and the strengthening of private sector participation across various economic sectors.
In 2025, the Ministry organized the Public–Private Sector Dialogue Forum to strengthen channels of dialogue and communication between the public and private sectors, ensuring the exchange of expertise and the development of the business environment, thereby contributing to the growth of wide-ranging economic sectors in the State, Sheikh Faisal outlined.
He elaborated that as a strategic step to enhance the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the national economy, the Ministry in 2025 approved a new classification for these companies, dividing them into micro, small, medium, and large categories, based on the number of employees and annual revenue, while enabling firms to update their data and reclassify themselves according to their actual growth.
Sheikh Faisal emphasized the Ministry's commitment to fostering digital transformation and advancing its electronic services to support the nation's business environment and increase its attractiveness for domestic and foreign investments.
The Minister added that the Single Window (SW) platform witnessed significant development, with 13 new electronic services launched since the beginning of 2025 to streamline procedures and bring services closer to users.
The total number of transactions processed until the third quarter of the year, he said, reached 72,500, 89% of which were completed electronically via this platform, while the customer satisfaction rate for these services reached 94%, reflecting the growing trust of users in the platform.
Regarding the attraction of foreign investment, Sheikh Faisal highlighted the ongoing efforts to strengthen the Qatari market's appeal to foreign investors in coordination with relevant authorities and through pursuing global best practices in investment attraction.
During the first half of 2025, 2,911 foreign companies were established, compared to 1,777 by the end of 2024, marking an increase of 163%, which confirms that the measures taken to attract foreign investment are proceeding on the right track, he emphasized.
Sheikh Faisal further noted the development of the commercial affairs sector, which witnessed in 2025 an 81.5% increase in the number of main and branch commercial records compared to the same period in 2024. The proportion of active main and branch records increased by 18.1%, the total active commercial licenses rose by 6.79%, and the time required to establish a company was reduced to two days.
In 2025, the Ministry launched the "My Companies" service on the SW mobile application, alongside the Voluntary Review Program for mergers and acquisitions, and the integration of land, sea, and air shipping activities into a single commercial registry, Sheikh Faisal concluded.
He further noted that the Ministry introduced a temporary commercial license service for service providers in the Sealine area, released the updated Industrial Sector Guide for activities in Qatar, and issued a comprehensive guide to trade name procedures.
Regarding consumer affairs, Sheikh Faisal asserted the Ministry's ongoing efforts to safeguard consumer rights and intensify inspection campaigns, ensuring full compliance of all sales outlets and establishments with consumer protection laws. In 2025, he noted, 73,747 inspection operations were carried out across all administrative units of the Ministry, with the Voluntary Review Program for mergers and acquisitions being highlighted as a strategic service aimed at fostering transparency and supporting companies' compliance with Article 10 of Law No. 19 of 2006 on competition protection and the prevention of monopolistic practices.
The Ministry also facilitated corporate procedures through the issuance of specialized licenses, achieving an average increase of 31% in licenses issued in 2025 compared to 2024, Sheikh Faisal said. The issuance time for specialized licenses was reduced to one day, and the processing time for goods and services pricing requests was minimized, he added, indicating that the number of beneficiaries of supply services increased by 2.61%, reflecting the enhanced efficiency and accessibility of Ministry services.
As for intellectual property, and as part of 2025 efforts to strengthen and protect IP rights, the Ministry signed a partnership program with the Korean side to prepare the National Intellectual Property Strategy and build capacity, Sheikh Faisal evinced, explaining that Qatar also submitted its accession document to the Nice Classification of Goods for the international classification of goods and services for trademark registration, launched the Intellectual Property Clinics project in collaboration with the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council, issued the Industrial Property Gazette on the Ministry's website, and activated the service for registering industrial designs and fees.
In addition, a guidance manual was prepared for judicial officers responsible for enforcing intellectual property rights protection, he suggested.
Sheikh Faisal further reminded that in 2025, the total number of registered trademarks reached approximately 7,464, with 8,072 trademark filing requests, 277 copyright and related rights deposit applications, 948 patent filing applications, and 164 patents granted, reflecting a robust and growing IP ecosystem in Qatar.
Finally, the Minister underlined that these achievements confirm the Ministry's unwavering commitment to continuing the advancement of the business climate and broadening the avenues for innovation, promoting entrepreneurship growth, empowering the private sector, and drawing foreign investments in the quest for realizing QNV2030 objectives and the development strategy to build a diverse, competitive, and enduring economy. (QNA)
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