(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, stressed that his country enjoys economic capabilities, investment environment, and business climate, making it an appropriate environment for Qatari investments, especially in tourism and agriculture sectors.
In a meeting with Qatar Chamber, the Prime Minister added that Albania is aware of Qatar's interest in investing in food security, pointing out that Albania provides a promising investment environment in this field, in addition to other sectors including manufacturing and export to Europe, as well as promising projects in the field of infrastructure.
The Albania Prime Minister noted that he is visiting Doha for the second time, in the course of reciprocal visits and efforts aimed at boosting cooperation relations between the two countries, especially with broad prospects for promoting these relations through cooperation in different sectors.
He reviewed Albania's investment climate, opportunities, and capabilities in various sectors including agriculture, explaining that the country has 560,000 hectares of agricultural land, agriculture accounts for 19 percent of its gross domestic product, while its food exports doubled between 2013-2017.
Albania has other important resources, including oil and gas, and its tourism sector has been doubled over the last five years, he pointed out. He further added that Albania is also one of the richest countries in its water resources, the second largest source of water in Europe after Norway.
The Albania Prime Minister called on Qatari businessmen to visit his country for a closer look at the promising opportunities. He pointed out that Albania is adopting encouraging legislation on foreign investments, in addition, there is a strong banking sector that provides Islamic banking services, while the tax rate does not exceed 15 percent.
He pointed out that the government offers investment opportunities in infrastructure projects, while tourism is one of the most important sectors of investment in Albania, as the country gives investors a tax exemption for ten years, as the tax rate does not exceed six percent in the period mentioned.
He pointed out that in 2018, Albania exempted Qataris from entry visa between March and October and recorded the entry of more than 1,000 Qatari nationals, which is expected to rise in the coming years, expressing hope that Qatar Airways will make a direct route between the two countries thus encouraging tourism in both countries.
First Vice-Chairman of Qatar Chamber Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari said that the meeting of the Albanian Prime Minister with the Qatari businessmen will open the horizons for cooperation between the two sides and contribute to informing Qatari investors about investment opportunities in Albania.
Trade between Qatar and Albania is still weak, as the trade exchange between them didn't exceed QR24m in 2018, he said. He called on businessmen on both sides to strengthen cooperation through establishing joint ventures to move trade relations between the two countries to new heights.
The First Vice-Chairman of Qatar Chamber stressed the readiness of the Chamber to help Albanian companies to learn about investment opportunities in Qatar and cooperate with its counterparts, particularly in the infrastructure projects and preparation for the 2022 World Cup. He pointed out that there are many other investment opportunities in all fields within a stimulating business environment for foreign investments.
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