Business
March 16, 2007

 

Strengthened Relationships and New Opportunities in Qatar and Japan

Yesterday concluded a 10-day mission by the Department of Business to the countries of Qatar and Japan to explore new business opportunities for Newfoundland and Labrador. The Honourable Kevin O�Brien, Minister of Business, and department officials are very optimistic about the meetings held during the trip, and the business opportunities that have been identified.

While in Doha, Qatar, the delegation met with the Second Deputy Prime Minister of Energy and Industry H.E. Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah and Faisal M. Al Suwaidi, vice-chairman and CEO of Qatargas. Discussions were held regarding ways to leverage bilateral relations, particularly in the gas, and gas-to-liquids sectors. Details on this meeting appeared in The Peninsula, a very popular daily print publication in the country. One of the objectives of the Qatar-Japan mission was not only to conduct face-to-face discussions with business leaders, but also to raise the awareness of the province with key media outlets in each country as a place to do business.

The delegation also met with the Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Economy and Commerce Yousef Bin Hussain Kamal. The Minister of Finance was very optimistic about the opportunities to partner with Newfoundland and Labrador and in supplying services to the booming economy of Qatar.

As well, the delegation met with Des Ryan, business support manager, Qatar Science and Technology Park. This park is the home for technology-based companies from around the world, and an incubator of start-up enterprises. A key objective for the park is to support companies in technology development and delivery to the marketplace.

"I was very pleased with the meetings held with government leaders in Qatar. The state is very impressed with the Newfoundland and Labrador organizations currently operating in Qatar, and are very responsive to conducting further business with our province," said Minister O�Brien. "We communicated the benefits our province has to offer, and have opened the door for further discussions. Qatar is experiencing an extremely strong economy, and this is expected to continue for years to come, powered by the immense natural gas reserves of the state."

The delegation then proceeded to Tokyo, Japan, where business attraction efforts focused on the aquaculture, oil and gas, mining and the metal and industrial fabrication industries. Over a dozen meetings were held with Japanese businesses, including some of the country�s most successful trading companies. In addition, a presentation was delivered to approximately 100 senior decision-makers in the agrifoods and aquaculture industries during the visit.

During our time in Tokyo, media interviews with Yugyo Hochi Shimbun, the largest oil industry daily newspaper in Japan, and Nikkan Suisan Keizai Shimbun, the largest fisheries daily newspaper in Japan. Minister O�Brien was quoted on page one in the fisheries newspaper, stating the tremendous potential in the aquaculture industry of the province, and encouraging Japanese companies to invest.

"The contacts we have made, and the discussions held during these visits will no doubt assist the department in our future business attraction endeavours. A common theme during the meetings was the fact that our province, its brand and its reputation of quality, innovation and creativity is well-known in these countries. Our businesses have developed an excellent reputation in terms of the work we can accomplish," stated Minister O�Brien. "The department will be conducting follow up activities with many of the businesses we met as well as sharing this international market intelligence with our industry associations. We are very pleased with the results of the mission."

- 30 -

Media contact:
Jennifer Dalton
Director of Communications
Department of Business
709-729-7628, 693-2655
jenniferdalton@gov.nl.ca

2007 03 16                                                    10:15 a.m.

 


SearchHomeBack to GovernmentContact Us


All material copyright the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server.
Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement