CEO Foreword

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to inform you of a breakthrough we made in August, which is our first collaboration with a Polish organisation. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Digital Poland Foundation, expressing our mutual intent to support the growth of the digital sector in Poland and Qatar by stimulating the development of new technologies. Digital Poland Foundation has made significant headway in positioning Poland as a leading innovation hub, making it an ideal partner for advancing digital transformation in the country.

Regarding Qatar’s financial sector, our efforts in creating opportunities to establish Qatar as a centre for environmentally sustainable investments have led us to a collaboration with UBS A.G. Together, we aim to establish an investment fund as a vehicle to support and promote sustainability by serving industries such as energy storage, eco-transport, food security and environmentally friendly technology through sustainable venture capital financing. We expect this initiative to generate considerable benefits for Qatar’s businesses and investors, and future generations.

As part of our strategy to invariably engage with local and international business communities, we co-hosted the Pakistan-Qatar Trade Investment Roundtable in Qatar, which saw the participation of ministers and dignitaries from both countries, as well as local business leaders. This roundtable explored areas where the countries can expand trade and invest, which lead to strengthened diplomatic and economic relations.

We also participated in the 17^th Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum as one of the main speakers represented by the Financial Sector Office. Attending the event allowed us to network with international key players in the Islamic finance market and aligned us with the latest issues and challenges in global Islamic finance. Such engagements help us form strategies to further develop the local Islamic finance market.

In addition, QFC organised a masterclass with HEC Paris titled “Reinventing HR Across Gender and Organisational Boundaries”. This session is part of a series of masterclasses that the QFC and HEC Paris will host to explore various leadership and human resource topics to foster healthy and productive employment relations in the QFC.

Finally, I am equally pleased to mention that the QFC recently sponsored a summer programme for youth, themed “Assets of the Future”, organised by Qatar Finance and Business Academy and Northumbria University. The programme, developed to introduce students to different careers in the financial sector, serves our Corporate Social Responsibility to empower youth while preparing future talents for the financial sector.

I look forward to relaying more news with you next month.

Sincerely,