March 1 – An unlikely trade mission this week pitched former World Cup bidding foes together in a show of friendship and economic opportunity. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee and the US Embassy in Qatar concluded a joint trip to Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.
The delegation, led by the Secretary-General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, Hassan Al Thawadi (pictured) and Susan Ziadeh, US Ambassador to Qatar, toured sporting venues and visited infrastructure projects.
The objective of the mission was to lay the foundation for partnerships with US companies as Qatar prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Commercial ties between Qatar and the United States have expanded over the past seven years, with trade volumes growing from $738m in 2003 to $4.03bn in 2011. As part of the Joint Trade Mission, Hassan Al Thawadi delivered presentations to hundreds of American companies in Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle on the business opportunities the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar presents.
“We have been extremely impressed with the calibre of companies and individuals that we have been introduced to this week. The United States is renowned as a hub for innovation and on this visit we have witnessed inspiring projects in the fields of design, sustainability and sports development,” said Al Thawadi.
“We must now build on these relationships with our American and international counterparts and ultimately use the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a platform to articulate, develop and improve on international best practice for infrastructure, for renewable technology and for the tournament itself,” he added.
As part of the visit, the Secretary-General and the US Ambassador met with Antonio Villaraigosa, the Mayor of Los Angeles (LA).
LA hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games and was one of the nine host cities of the 1994 FIFA World Cup United States. “Los Angeles is the creative, entertainment and innovation capital of the world and we are on the forefront of international trade and tourism,” said. “So I look forward to exploring the new ways LA and its businesses can partner and collaborate with Qatar as it prepares for 2022 FIFA World Cup and beyond.”
Members of the Committee’s Technical Department visited several iconic sport facilities of the West Coast including, the Rose Bowl, the Home Depot Centre, the Staples Centre, Jeld-Wen Field, CenturyLink Field, Safeco Field and the to-be-constructed Farmers Field in order to research redevelopment, entertainment, cultural and legacy ideas that can be applied to stadiums in Qatar.
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