“The support of Sheikha Mozah has given a major boost to the campaign. We are still facing a shortage of donors in the country. We hope more nationals and residents would now come forward to donate organs. We would like to see the number of donors as well as the recipients grow in Qatar in the years to come,” Dr Yousuf Al Muslamani, head of the Organ Transplant Committee said yesterday.

He was addressing a joint press conference at the Hamad Medical City with Professor Francis Delmonico, president-elect of the Transplantation Society in the US, and medical adviser to the World Health Organisation (WHO).[Read More]

He delivered a special message from the President to the Emir conveying gratitude for Qatar’s generous and timely assistance for the flood affected people.
Foreign Minister Qureshi conveyed to the Qatari leadership that Pakistan was keen to further enhance and expand its existing friendly relations with Qatar in a number of fields.
He added that Pakistan offered investment friendly opportunities which the businessmen and investors from Qatar could avail. He said that Pakistancould provide skilled manpower to Qatar.
The Qatari leadership expressed deep sorrow over the damages caused by the devastating flood in Pakistan. The Emir assured the Foreign Minister that his country would extend all possible assistance to the brotherly country in overcoming this difficult phase in its history and would cooperate with it in the rehabilitation and reconstruction in the flood affected areas.
He said that Qatar considered Pakistan to be an important country and wished to see it economically strong and prosperous. He expressed his warms sentiments and keen desire for strengthening Qatar’s relations with Pakistan.
The Prime Minister of Qatar said that he would soon visit Pakistan to coordinate efforts for further strengthening the existing bilateral relations andexploring possibilities for enhanced trade and investment between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Qureshi and Minister for International Cooperation and Trade Mr. Attiyah discussed bilateral trade and investment opportunities in Pakistan and emphasized the importance of increased interaction between the two countries.
The Foreign Minister also addressed the Pakistani community urging them to generously donate for the flood affected people in Pakistan. He appreciated the valuable contribution made by the community towards the flood relief efforts.
The Foreign Minister is visiting Qatar from 1-2 September on the last leg of his tour to Gulf region.
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The duo was caught as they were planning to flee the country.

Acting on a tip-off from a local bank that fake credit cards were being used to make purchases of valuables from some shops, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Ministry of Interior swung into action and set up a team of sleuths to crack down on the alleged offenders.

Six outlets were targeted by the duo to buy expensive items such as jewellery, wrist watches and garments.

The outlets told the investigating team that two Europeans who could only speak their mother tongue with fluency had made these purchases.[Read More]

He delivered a special message from the President to the Emir conveying gratitude for Qatar’s generous and timely assistance for the flood affected people.
Foreign Minister Qureshi conveyed to the Qatari leadership that Pakistan was keen to further enhance and expand its existing friendly relations with Qatar in a number of fields.
He added that Pakistan offered investment friendly opportunities which the businessmen and investors from Qatar could avail. He said that Pakistancould provide skilled manpower to Qatar. [Read More]

Some 14 percent of France’s total foreign investment is concentrated in the Middle East, with Qatar being one of the key destinations where several French giants are based.

The assets in France of the state-backed Barwa Real Estate Company alone are estimated at a whopping €300m.

A senior official from the French Agency for Foreign Investment in the Middle East told reporters here recently that Islamic banking was rapidly increasing in France.

It grew by an incredible 29 percent last year whereas conventionally banking grew barely 6.8 percent.

The official pointed out that the assets of Islamic banks worldwide were expected to soar to a record $1 trillion by the year-end.[Read More]

product, is a robust, proven AAOIFI-certified Islamic Core Banking Solution and has won the approval of many Shari’a boards.

Following a 4-month fast-track implementation, al khaliji al islami’s Corporate & Institutional, SME and Retail Banking customers can now benefit from state of the art product suite covering Islamic Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Treasury and Trade Finance.”The impact of the new system will have major benefits for al khaliji al islami and its customers”, explains Khalid Mahdi Al Ahbabi, Head of al khaliji al islami. “Today, we are processing all operations in real-time, leading to maximum productivity and greater efficiencies. Thanks to a great team effort, we are now able to introduce innovative financial instruments that will help us become Qatar’s leading provider of Shari’a compliant banking products and services.” [Read More]

GASAL, a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum, Air Liquide and QIMC, will supply all new industrial gases requirements (Oxygen, Nitrogen and Liquid Argon) of Qatar Steel plants located in Mesaieed Industrial City.

This agreement is in addition to a previous one signed by both companies in 2006. Within this framework, a new oxygen production unit will be added to the existing two, bringing the total production capacity on this site to 650 tonnes of oxygen per day. This unit will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2012.

Gasal, while operating its existing plants, shall design, construct, operate and maintain the new Air Separation Unit on a parcel of land sub-leased by Qatar Steel in Mesaieed.[Read More]

“The 2011 event will be hosted at the up coming Qatar National Conventions Center,” said Dr Abdul Wahab Al Musleh, Director of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) at HMC and Vice Chairman, Qatar Health 2010. “With more space and facilities, we can increase the number of simultaneous conferences on various medical sub-specialisations.”

The 2010 edition at Doha Exhibition Center will see a medical congress, which showcases 16 scientific tracks for healthcare professionals and an exhibition, which houses leading exhibitors from the medical sector with information that targets industry experts and the general public

The event will also host a meeting of International Confederation for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS) which will bring in a minimum of 500 plastic surgeons alone added to some 3000 other guests including the public. The other new tracks this year include anaesthesia, orthopaedics, Primary Health, healthcare management, paediatric emergency, nursing and haematology/oncology.[Read More]

“They have one of the fastest growing economies but they also have one of the fastest deflating economies,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi in Riyadh. “I don’t think it creates any structural impediments to the economy.”

Qatar cut its overnight deposit rate by half a percentage point to 1.5 percent on Aug. 11, a move prompted by domestic deflation and low global borrowing costs, the central bank said. The rate was last reduced in May 2008 when Qatar trimmed it by a quarter point to 2 percent. Qatar, which had an inflation rate as high as 15 percent in 2008, predicts prices will rise 1 percent this year.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that Qatar’s economy will increase 19 percent this year, faster than any other economy and double the country’s growth rate for 2009. Energy wealth helped Qatar’s economy triple in size since 2004.

The Qatar Statistics Authority also shifted the base year for its consumer price index to 2007 from 2006, according to the authority’s statement today. The move was meant to comply with a recommendation by the Gulf Cooperation Council for members to use 2007 as the base year.

–Editors: Peter Hirschberg, Louis Meixler.

To contact the reporters on this story: Glen Carey in Dubai at gcarey8@bloomberg.net; Robert Tuttle in Doha at rtuttle@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net
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Khalid Fakhroo, Director of the Public Relations and Human Resources Department at Qatar Charity, said the aid included donations by individuals and organisations.

Doha Bank donated QR100,000 while the heirs of Abdul Jaleel Abdul Ghani contributed QR250,000.

Al Ahmadani company donated QR100,000 and Abdullah Abdulghani Education Centre donated QR50,000.

The official expects the donations to reach QR15m at the minimum taking into consideration the scale of the disaster.

Qatar Charity has already started distributing emergency aid in the flood-hit areas that was sent through the “air bridge” to Lahore and Islamabad airports set up in the beginning of this week.

More than half of the material to be sent through this channel has already reached Pakistan, said Fakhroo.

He said the offices of Qatar Charity in Swat and Rajanpur in Pakistan had started distributing 40 tonnes of aid sent through Qatar Airways last Sunday.[Read More]