The almost 5,000 million of Qatari investment that Spain has achieved for the coming years are a breath of fresh air for the national economy at a time when the momentum of recovery after the pandemic has been slowed down to a certain extent by the impact of the war in Ukraine, which could lead to a decline in GDP in the second and third quarters of the year in the most adverse scenario, as the Bank of Spain has warned.
Behind this injection of private capital is the strength and resilience shown by Spanish companies in recent years despite the volatility of the international economy. “We will put all the meat on the grill so that money from abroad has an interest in Spain and so that Spain, which needs these investments, welcomes them favorably and, above all, to value Spanish companies”, affirmed the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, during the opening ceremony of the Spain-Qatar business forum in the framework of the State visit of the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
In this sense, the leader of the employers’ association assures that “for Spain it is great news, firstly because of the amount, and secondly because it shows that Spain is worth it (…) I can only value it in a positive way.”
For his part, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, thanked Al Thani for his presence in Spain and highlighted the “close ties of friendship” between Spain and Qatar and that are made clear by his visit, which “reaffirms and reinforces” good relations between the two countries.
Qatar is the second largest investor from the Persian Gulf in Spain, behind the United Arab Emirates. The total value of trade between countries reached the figure of 990 million euros in 2021, with a greater presence of imports concentrated in liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“This element is key in the geopolitical and economic context in which we find ourselves,” said Sánchez during his speech. In this regard, he applauded the emir’s decision to increase his investment in Spain by 4,700 million euros and applauded the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Qatari sovereign wealth fund QIA and Cofides, to “locate joint investment and development opportunities” in technology sectors. and greens. “Qatar trusts Spain because the Spanish economy is robust,” Sánchez told the business leaders.
In this context, Iberdrola and the Qatar Investment Promotion Agency (IPA Qatar) reached an agreement to promote the leading energy innovation center, with the aim of advancing in the digitization of Qatar’s electricity sector. The center, currently located in the Qatar Science and Technology Park, will delve into the technological challenges related to innovation and digitization in terms of smart grids, integration of renewable energies and energy efficiency.
The Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, reaffirmed this alliance, assuring that “Iberdrola has been and will continue to be an accelerator for the expansion of small businesses in the world.” He added that Iberdrola’s experience in Qatar for almost 20 years is proof of the opportunities in the country. “We have signed an expansion agreement here, consolidating a center that is a world reference in smart grids, renewable energy integration and energy efficiency, and without a doubt the most advanced in the Middle East in its field,” he stated.
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