USQBC Hosts Lunch Networking Event for USQBC President Scott Taylor

Doha, Qatar - On September 6th, the US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC) Doha Office hosted a Lunch Networking Event featuring USQBC’s President Scott Taylor. The networking lunch was hosted at the CUT Restaurant at the Mondrian Hotel and was attended by USQBC members.

Sheikha Mayes bint Hamad Al-Thani, USQBC’s Managing Director in Qatar delivered welcome remarks followed by USQBC President who delivered remarks.

“We are delighted to introduce Former Congressman Scott Taylor during his first visit to Qatar as President of USQBC,” said Sheikha Mayes bint Hamad Al-Thani. “Scott brings with him extensive global experience that will help strengthen and develop the US-Qatar bilateral business relationship even further and I look forward to working together with him to advance the interests of our members in Qatar.”

"The United States and Qatar continue to strengthen their strategic bilateral relationship across many fields,” said USQBC President Scott Taylor, “The relationship between the two countries has never been stronger in our 50 years of partnership. The USQBC stands ready to assist in expanding the thriving commercial partnership for both our Qatari and American member companies. While the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is just around the corner, as well as many exciting projects in the pipeline, the best is yet to come!"

This was the first visit of Former Congressman Scott Taylor to Doha since being appointed as President of USQBC on June 3rd, 2022. Scott Taylor will use his extensive experience in international business development, government relations, and government diplomacy to support USQBC’s mission to expand and enhance the bilateral business relationship between Qatar and the United States.

Scott Taylor is a former Congressman and US Navy SEAL. As a Congressman representing Virginia’s 2nd district, Scott Taylor served on the Appropriations Committee. He was a sponsor of the Ashanti Alert Act, a nationwide network for missing persons, and the VA SEA Act for accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to his time in Congress, Scott Taylor served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the State of Qatar. This milestone signifies the longevity and strength of the strategic alliance between the two countries with Qatar recently being designated a “Major Non-NATO Ally” of the United States by President Joe Biden. The United States and Qatar have established a solid base for distinguished regional and international political relations, in addition to deep commercial, security, and cultural partnerships.

The bilateral business ties between the United States and Qatar continue to solidify with the total economic relationship between them exceeding $200 billion as of 2019. The US is Qatar’s largest foreign direct investor with a total of $110.6 billion in FDI and is the largest single source of exports to Qatar at $6.5 billion in goods in 2019. Today, more than 850+ US companies now operate in Qatar.

Qatar is an increasingly large investor in the United States having pledged over $45 billion in investment over the coming years with key investments already having been made across multiple sectors including oil and gas, financial technology, real estate, food production, and hospitality among others.