Council Leads Chicago Trade & Finance Mission

June 18, 2013.  Doha, Qatar – The US-Qatar Business Council celebrated the launch of their first Chicago-based Trade and Finance Mission last night in Qatar with a reception at sponsor hotel, the St. Regis Doha.  Attended by Council members and leaders from Qatar’s business and finance communities, the reception capped off the first full day of the three-day mission. Leaders of Chicago’s civic, business and finance community have come to Doha to strengthen the relationship between these two great cities and explore mutual opportunities for growth. The Trade and Finance Mission, the first of its kind for the Council, brings a number of prominent financial firms from the United States to Qatar to raise awareness of Qatar’s economic opportunities in an effort to build business ties between the two countries.  Chicago and Qatar have already seen great cooperation in the social and corporate sectors including the expansion of Qatar Airways into Chicago and major investments by Al Faisal Holdings into the city.  The delegates will meet with important decision makers and organizations in the finance and corporate sectors of Qatar. Ambassador Patrick N. Theros said of the Mission,  “This mission takes the initiative to fill one of the few gaps in an extremely close and positive relationship between the US and Qatar.  US presence in Qatar in the political, trade and industrial sectors has not been matched by an equivalent intimacy in the financial sector.  Outside of the hydrocarbon sector, bilateral investments have been relatively small and major financial institutions have not engaged in each other’s market.  We hope to change that dramatically. Chicago, the powerhouse of the American Midwest and the second biggest financial market in the US provides the ideal launch pad. The Council would like to thank the St. Regis Doha, and its partners in Chicago including the Arab American Business & Professional Association, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago and World Business Chicago as well as USQBC Member Doha Bank and the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, for their generous support of this mission.