Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry is one of the oldest Chambers of Commerce in the GCC Countries. Having been established in 1963, it used to operate within the structure of Government agencies until the promulgation of law No. (11) Of 1990 which empowered the Chamber to operate independently. This enabled the Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry to exercise a wide range of activities commensurate with national, regional and international developments and serve the commercial, industrial and agricultural interests of the Chamber Members.

On 8th July, 1996 Qatar witnessed, in its first democratic experience, the promulgation of law No. (11) of 1996, which amended some of the provisions of law (11) of 1990, article (13) in particular which stipulates  that Board Members shall be directly elected by QCCI General Assembly which represents different economic sectors in Qatar. The Minister of Business and Trade shall determine the proportional representation of these sectors following consultations with the concerned Ministers. The Board term of office is four instead of five years. The QCCI internal regulations shall specify how elections should be held.

Accordingly, the Minister of Business and Trade has issued resolution No. (10) of 1997 determining the sector's proportional representation in the QCCI board as follows:-

•           The Trading Sector :                               5 Members

•           The Contracting Sector :                       4 Members

•           The Manufacturing Sector :                 3 Members

•           The Services Sector :                              1 Member

•           The Banking & Investment Sector :  1 Member

•           The Tourism Sector :                              1 Member

•           The Agricultural Sector :                       1 Member

•           The insurance Sector    :                        1 Member

The Board Members shall, in their first meeting elect a Board Chairman , a Vice Chairman  and an Honorary Treasurer.

 Services Provided By QCCI:

The chamber provides all facilities whether at the local or the international level; where it is a member of the following unions, organizations, and chambers:-

1) Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers Federation.

2) General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries

3) Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

4) International Chamber of Commerce.

5) Afro- Asian Organization for Economic Cooperation

6) Joint Arab and foreign chambers:

-  Arab-American Chamber of Commerce

- Arab-British Chamber of Commerce

- Arab-French Chamber of Commerce

- Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

- Arab-Italian Chamber of Commerce

 - Arab-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Development

The chamber also provides businessmen with positive suggestions and recommendations in all fields, especially on establishing commercial, industrial and agricultural projects by providing them with adequate and necessary information through its different devices. Services performed by the chamber can be classified as the following:

Members Affairs Department

- Issuing certificates of origin for local and foreign products

- Attesting the commercial invoices

- Issuing “To Whom It May Concern” certificates

- Attesting authorized signatures

- Retention of records of national factories for the purposes of following up export processes and speaking on behalf of exporters in the specialized international committees

Public Relations and Commercial Information Department

- Receiving business delegations, arranging bookings, interviews, and visiting delegations, and preparing necessary visas for these delegations.

- Organizing commercial & economic meetings and events, arranging local conferences and seminars for specified topics in the business community in cooperation with official government agencies in Qatar.

- Organizing trade exhibitions and missions to the overseas markets.

- Providing all data needed for the different economic activities.

Legal Affairs Department

This department has many services and roles as:

- Settling commercial disputes which raise between businessmen by means of reconciliation and arbitration or converting them to the Committee of Arbitration in the chamber to decide  suitable procedures.

- Preparing legal memos related to members activities to protect and develop their business, studying woes and constraints that face their activities and suggesting recommendations.

- Introducing opinions on discussing commercial and industrial laws and pursuing implementation of these laws after issuance.

- Replying oral and written inquiries which are submitted by members of the chamber and  related to their activities  besides introducing suggestions and  recommendations.

- Publishing instructions and decisions in the documents of the chamber to enable businessmen and members to have full knowledge of these instructions.

Studies & Projects Department

- Prepare statistics and data on national economy as well as on major developments in regional and international markets.

- Prepare economic studies regarding financial, economic and commercial situation inside and outside Qatar.

- Identify and promote projects and available investment opportunities in Qatar.

- Conduct promotional programs for Qatari exports in the international markets.               

- Organize and manage training activities and seminars to promote trading and industrial activities in Qatar.

Media & Publishing Department

- Covering all news of the chamber activities in local and Arab newspapers.

- Issuing of commercial and industrial directories , and media publications bulletins.

-Issuing of the chamber magazine and revising its editorial materials.

- Following up versions of the chamber and related issues for art direction , printing , advertising and distribution  .

- Suggesting publications and issues which help in activating the roles of the chamber.

- Media cooperation between the chamber and various  parties inside and outside Doha.

- Following-up media conferences and seminars held in the chamber.

Chamber Library

The chamber embodies a library which comprises various publications, periodicals and magazines which are issued on weekly/monthly/seasonal/yearly basis, in addition to various international commercial and industrial directories which are of interest to businessmen.

The chamber is currently preparing for setting up a Documentation and Information Center, which will include all documents pertaining to laws and regulations concerning business activities  in Qatar, GCCS, and other Arab and Foreign countries.