Qatar Highlights Its Economic Lead at St Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia

HE the Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Sayed led Qatar’s delegation at the 28th St Petersburg International Economic Forum, which concluded in Russia Saturday.

Qatar’s participation highlights its leading economic position on regional and international levels and aims to underscore the attractive investment environment available for foreign investment.

The delegation shed light on key investment incentives, advantages, and initiatives that support the private sector and enhance the competitiveness and diversification of the national economy under Qatar National Vision 2030.

The minister took part in the forum’s plenary session, attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, alongside prominent political and economic figures and global decision-makers.

He also participated in a high-level panel discussion titled ‘In Search of New Growth Drivers: Redesigning the Global Financial and Trade Framework’, alongside senior officials including Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation; Andrey Kostin, Chairman and CEO of VTB Bank; Benedict Okey Oramah, Chairman and President of the African Export-Import Bank; Oleg Deripaska, Founder of RUSAL, GAZ Group, and the Volnoe Delo Foundation; and Yaroslav Kuzminov, Academic Supervisor at the Higher School of Economics (National Research University).

HE al-Sayed delivered remarks highlighting Qatar’s pivotal role in promoting innovation and scientific research as a cornerstone of sustainable economic growth.

 He underscored the importance of Qatar’s Research, Development, and Innovation Strategy 2030, which seeks to catalyse institutional transformation and advance key national priorities, such as food security, healthcare, energy, technology and logistics.

He emphasised that Qatar fosters an ecosystem in which the public and private sectors are encouraged to adopt advanced technological solutions that enhance efficiency, strengthen competitiveness, and drive entrepreneurship, particularly within priority sectors.

HE al-Sayed highlighted the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) as a successful model of regional integration, highlighting its harmonised economic systems and policies, and shared infrastructure and services.

 He noted that the GCC continues to make steady progress towards full economic integration, further strengthening its position as a prominent global financial and investment hub.

He said the GCC’s aggregate GDP reached approximately $2.2tn, ranking ninth globally, while its capital markets ranked seventh worldwide by market capitalisation, accounting for 4.3% of global markets. The non-oil sector contributed 75.9% of the region’s GDP in 2024.

HE al-Sayed underscored Qatar’s success in advancing a digital economy, underpinned by its robust infrastructure and adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, noting that this enables Qatar to keep pace with global transformations and position itself as a leader in the knowledge economy.

On the sidelines of the forum, HE al-Sayed held bilateral talks with Maxim Markovich, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, and Andrey Kostin, Chairman and CEO of VTB Bank. 

The meetings explored prospects for co-operation in various fields and the incentives, legislation overhaul, and promising opportunities Qatar offers to encourage foreign investment.

He then toured the forum’s accompanying exhibition, including the pavilion of Bahrain, this year’s guest of honour, and several other exhibitors. 

He was briefed on the latest services and innovations in sectors such as industry, financial services and insurance, information technology, healthcare, education and science, business consultancy, telecommunications, logistics and transport, real estate, hospitality and tourism, and metals and mining.

The official delegation representing Qatar at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum included representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar Investment Authority, Investment Promotion Agency (Invest Qatar), and Qatar Chamber.