Home › Travel Guides › Middle East Travel Guide › Qatar › Doing business & staying in touch

Doing business & staying in touch

Politeness and patience are key ingredients for successful business interaction.

Office hours: 

Sat-Thurs 0800-1200 and 1600-1900.

Government office hours: Sat-Wed 0700-1400. Some are open on Thursday mornings too.

Economy: 

Oil, and in particular gas reserves, have transformed Qatar from an impoverished outcrop on the Arabian Peninsula into one of the richest countries in the world. As of 2007, it is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world.

While agriculture is limited by climate and water resources, the Qatari government has bolstered indigenous industries such as petrochemicals and refining, ammonia, fertilisers, steel, cement and commercial ship repair. Current economic performance shows annual growth of 7.8% (2007) and inflation runs at 12% (2007).

Qatar is a member of OPEC and the World Trade Organisation.
Several of Doha's largest hotels provide facilities with extensive support services, including simultaneous translation systems and full audio-visual capability. Contact individual hotels for more information.

GDP: 

US$68.9 billion (2007).

Main exports: 

Oil and gas.

Main imports: 

Consumer goods, machinery and food.

Main trading partners: 

Japan, South Korea, France, US and Singapore.

Staying in touch in Qatar

Telephone: 

There are no area codes.

Mobile phone: 

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone operators. Coverage is good.

Internet: 

There are plenty of Internet cafes in Doha.

Post: 

Airmail to Europe takes up to one week.

Post office hours: 

Sun-Thurs 0700-2000, Sat 0800-1100 and 1700-1900.

Media: 

There has been no censorship of the media since 1995. Qatar television has been renowned worldwide since the launch of Al-Jazeera in 1996, together with Al-Jazeera English (a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week English language news channel launched in 2006), which is extremely popular in and beyond the Arab world.

Press: 

• English-language newspapers include the Gulf Times and The Peninsula.
• The main dailies are Al-'Arab, Ar-Raya and Ash-Sharq.

Television: 

• Al Jazeera is a satellite broadcaster financed by the Qatar government.
• Qatar TV is state-run.

Radio: 

• Qatar Broadcasting Service (QBS) is state-run.
• The BBC World Service can be received on FM in Doha.

Recommended Sites:

Protect yourself from malaria
Before you travel, find out if your holiday destination is in a malaria zone.
(An educational initiative organised and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health. UK/MARK/0173/10 September 2010)
Travel insurance
For residents of over 150 countries. High levels of medical, evacuation, emergency & most adventure activities covered.