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n less than a decade this peaceful country became one of the most rapidly growing
countries in the Middle East. In 1995 when current ruler Emir Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani
came to power, his determination and strong desire helped Qatar rapid economic
growth. Recently Qatar was ranked 57 out of 181 countries on the World Bank Ease of
Doing Business Index. And because of this the economy here remains strong even with
the way today’s global financial economy is. Because Qatar is a much smaller market
and not as oversold as Dubai, lots of companies want to set up and build here. Qatar
is very eager and enthusiastic to attract foreign companies and capital. They have
interest in franchising, education, healthcare, safety and security and
infrastructure development. And because of its extremely strong relationship with
Washington based on security ties and energy, in 2007 Qatar became the United States
top export partner. Bilateral trading alone shot up from 723 million in 2003 to 3.2
billion last year alone. This country is also the United States major supplier of
oil and gas equipment. It’s important to talk to accountants and lawyers while
putting your business plan together. Here you also need to take your time, have all
your information and have your documents in order. Because overseas companies are
required to have a 51% shareholder local partner, it’s important to have all of your
documents together so that the various government departments can process them. Here
as long as you know the rules and go by the rules and don’t expect to ignore or
side-step regulations here in Doha, Qatar you will be fine and won’t run into
problems. Be sure to schedule your meeting accordingly because here the general rule
for private business hours are from 7:30 am to 12 p.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. Here
language, social rules and dress codes are important. And although English is taught
here in the higher education areas, universities and campuses, it is widely spoken
here. Good manners and respect for their culture are also important factors in doing
business well in Doha Qatar.