Qatar Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in qatar, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Market Opportunities
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The U.S. Commercial Service assesses that the best market opportunities for U.S. companies are in sectors such as ICT, artificial intelligence, cyber-security, energy, healthcare, aerospace, security, and defense. Government spending is largely focused on achieving long-term strategic and modernization goals under Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Third National Development Strategy (NDS3) published in February 2024. These include developing a knowledge-based economy and increasing the share of GDP derived from non-extractive industries. 

The execution of Qatar National Vision 2030 and NDS3 will weigh heavily on the government’s investment decisions. While key sectors related to Qatar’s national development strategy are manufacturing, logistics, and tourism, enabling clusters include education (developing the Qatari population and meeting the education needs of the large expatriate population), financial services, and digital infrastructure and capabilities. This focus will further support the development of resiliency clusters including healthcare (developing state-of-the-art institutions and efficient systems that meet the needs of the population) as well as agriculture and food production capabilities. U.S. companies interested in targeting these areas will benefit from discussing their goals and objectives with Commercial Service in Doha to assess their optimal market entry approach.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

For over a decade, Qatar’s government has emphasized and concentrated on the ICT sector to transform itself into sustainable development across economic, social, human and environment areas and turn into a knowledge-based economy. Qatar has experienced significant economic development over recent decades. The Qatar Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) continues to play a leading role in the country’s National Vision 2030 and recently published Qatar’s National Digital Agenda 2030, which aims to serve as a roadmap to the development of the country’s digital economy by building on Qatar’s technological evolution, sustainability, and economic diversification initiatives. 

Qatar aims to become a leading digital economy following the strategy, which requires the government of Qatar to invest in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing to drive economic growth, improve government services and enhance the quality of life for its citizens and residents. The strategy also stipulates Qatar’s need for a skilled workforce to support the digital transformation.

By partnering with major U.S. ICT companies, Qatar can leverage their expertise and resources to build state-of-the-art centers that can support the country’s growing technology needs. These data centers will not only improve connectivity and access to information for individuals but also attract more businesses to invest in Qatar. 

Food Products 

With limited agricultural capabilities, Qatar relies heavily on food imports to meet the needs of its growing population. The government of Qatar is investing in local food production and has improved its food security since 2017, both by importing products from a more diverse set of trading partners and by investing heavily in building the local food industry from the ground up, which presents an array of opportunities for U.S. companies. The U.S. Commercial Service in Qatar regularly partners with the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Gulf Regional Office in Dubai to highlight U.S. food products in Qatar. 

Energy 

The energy sector, specifically oil and gas production in Qatar, continues to present some of the greatest opportunities for U.S. companies, especially with Qatar’s $50 billion North Field Expansion (NFE) South and West projects in LNG. The projects are set to increase natural gas production by 85 %– from 77 million tons per annum (mtpa) to 142 mtpa by 2030. QatarEnergy (formerly called Qatar Petroleum), a state-owned oil and gas company is in partnerships with ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, three European and two Asian companies, marking a major milestone with global impact due to increased global demand of natural gas. As Qatar expands its LNG production, it also is investing in renewables and boosts its solar portfolio. 

In addition to the existing Al-Kharsaah 800-megawatt solar power plant, Qatar plans to construct a 2-gigwatt new solar facility in Dukhan which is expected to be online by 2030. In January 2023, QatarEnergy finalized a joint venture investment of $6 billion for the integrated polymers complex project in Ras Laffan which will increase Qatar’s current polyethylene production by 82 %. It will be featured as the largest ethylene cracker in the region and expected to be online by 2026. In November 2024, Qatar has laid the foundation stone for $1.2 billion ammonia plant which is expected to produce 1.2 mtpa by 2026, the world largest blue ammonia plant. 

Climate Change and Sustainability

In addition to recent global commitments to net-zero emissions, there has been a growing emphasis in Qatar to tackle climate change and address Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concerns. This shift in focus benefits Qatar because of LNG’s role as a lower-carbon transition fuel to replace coal as an energy source. In October 2021, Qatar released its Climate Change Strategy (CCS), which is focused on adaptation and mitigation, urban planning and development, and spatial land use. According to the current National Development Strategy, Qatar seeks to reduce ground water extraction by 70%, increase the use of sustainable desalination processes, and the encourage water conservation efforts by citizens, businesses and farmers through 2030. There will be business opportunities in the following areas: 

  • Environmental Preservation - The government is trying to improve the country’s air quality, maintain the quality of marine environment and coral reefs, as well as chemical and radiological safety and security. The long-term plan is to “become a society completely free of landfills.” 
     
  • Urban Beautification - The government is also prioritising the “beautification of cities and increasing green spaces to promote sustainable urban health.” There are plans for improving the level and quality of green spaces and increasing green areas. 
     
  • Sustainability – Qatar is developing sustainable strategies, building cities and areas that provides green infrastructure with smart, energy efficient technologies, and encourages the use of sustainable transportation such as rail, electric and hybrid vehicles which help reduce emissions. 
     
  • Waste management - Qatar’s solid waste management market is expected to transform in the next five years. Municipal solid waste management is a major challenge faced by Qatar, due to urbanization, industrial growth, and economic expansion. The country has one of the highest per capita waste generation rates in the world, nearly 2 kg, per day on average.
     
  • Water Resource Management: Qatar relies on water desalination technologies to meet its water needs, which consume a significant portion of energy. Therefore, the country seeks to improve the efficiency of desalination plants and reduce energy consumption in these processes, as well as water reuse programs, reducing the depletion of natural water resources.
     
  • Clean technology - As a national priority, Qatar will dedicate resources to obtain the   newest clean technology to meet the country’s needs. In May 2024, the Qatar Ministry of Finance announced the issuance of green bonds totaling 2.5 billion dollars to fund environmentally friendly projects.
     

Defense, Aviation, Security 

The strong and growing bilateral security partnership between Qatar and the United States is demonstrated by a series of major U.S. defense sales to Qatar. Qatar’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program forms the cornerstone of security cooperation between U.S. and Qatari forces, with a total case value of over $27 billion in sales since 2017 - the third highest in the world. Since 2014, the United States has also authorized the permanent export of billions in defense articles to Qatar via the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) process. Qatar’s plan to expand and modernize its military will continue to provide opportunities for foreign military and direct commercial sales, especially training and capacity building programs across all branches of the Qatar Armed Forces. In addition to military modernization initiatives, Qatar’s significant demand for aviation technology is driven by the global expansion plans of the national commercial airline, Qatar Airways, as well as the expansion of Qatar’s sole commercial airport, Hamad International Airport. Lastly, security remains a top priority for Qatar.

2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup Legacy

Qatar has set its sights on becoming the regional hub for sports entertainment as host for the 2027 Men’s Basketball World Cup, 2030 Asian Games, a Formula 1 race, and other large-scale sporting events. Qatar has also been awarded the hosting rights for the FIFA U-17 World Cup from 2025 to 2029, beginning with the 2025 edition and concluding with the 2029 edition. This sector represents one part of Qatar’s diversification strategy. Since Qatar won the bid for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the country has developed significant infrastructure (stadiums, lodging, transportation, highways, hospitals, etc.) to accommodate the influx of spectators into the country.