Doha, 14 May 2008

Lord Digby Jones, UK Minister of Trade and Investment, visited the QFC on 14 May. Lord Digby Jones (a previous Director General of the Confederation of British Industry) is leading a British delegation on a tour of Middle East countries also including Libya and the UAE. He was accompanied by Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, who chairs the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for Qatar and is a former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords. Also in the delegation were representatives of HSBC and DLA Piper. Lord Digby Jones, who heads the UK government body promoting UK trade and investment around the world, met with Stuart Pearce, CEO and Director General of the QFC Authority, Richard Collins, Managing Director for Authorisation of the QFC Regulatory Authority, representatives of Clyde & Co, Reed, Manpower and Hugh Fraser International (all UK firms licensed by the QFC) as well as other senior executives of the QFC Authority, who briefed him on the progress made by the QFC and the benefits for firms operating under a QFC license. The British Charge d’Affairs in Qatar, Roddy Drummond, accompanied the group to the QFC.