Trade agreement between Qatar and the USA within one week
Qatar-USA, Economics, 10/2/2004

Members of the US congress expected that a free trade organization will be signed between the USA and Qatar within one year.

This came during the visit made by the ruler of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khaleifa al-Thani, to the USA, where he had met with representatives at the congress and the American- Qatari coalition at the headquarters of the Congress in Washington.

Sheikh Hamad said that Qatar will provide the USA liquid natural gas and will attract direct American investments.

However, analysts said that Washington will set several preconditions before opening the door before the American investments and then the trade agreement, to include among others completing steps of economic openness and liberalization.

Economist Khaled al-Safouri indicated that there is a monopoly in the sector of telecommunications in Qatar where one company is controlling it. A matter which should be checked out and the door of competition to be opened before other companies.

Qatar has recently started a series of deep reforms inside the country aiming at qualifying it for the market economy phase.

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