Doha, October 01 (QNA) - The third day of the form on government procurement 2024 reviewed projects in Qatar's health sector where four divisions in the sector intend to implement during 2024 with a value of approximately QR 7 billion.

During his presentation regarding the expectations regarding the procurements system in the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), and Naufar, HMC assistant executive director of procurement Salem Mohammed Al Marri said that the value of the 1,710 public tenders that the sector intends to launch in 2024 exceeds QR 6.3 billion.

The HMC assistant executive director of procurement added that HMC accounts for 1,107 of these public tenders with a value that reaches QR 5 billion, followed by the Ministry of Public Health with 326 tenders that reach around QR 700 billion, PHCC with 273 tenders with the value of QR 600 million, and Naufar with four tenders.

He also discussed the mechanism followed in dividing the year for procurement operations for some of the strategic projects. He indicated that the health sector procurement system is an advanced organizational and procedural structure that aims to manage and organize purchasing and supply processes efficiently and transparently.

This system also aims to meet the health sector's needs for materials and services sustainably and effectively. It also includes the processes of selecting qualified suppliers, issuing tenders when necessary, and ensuring the application of the required quality and performance standards.

Al Marri said that through this system, the best possible value is achieved for the financial resources allocated to health care, and ensuring the provision of health services with the highest level of quality to patients and society.

He stressed that Qatar's health sector aims to provide healthcare services at the highest level of quality. These services include advanced hospitals and health centers as well as programs for scientific research and medical education by directing them toward providing the best health services and adopting the latest technologies and practices in health care that are considered among the leading medical entities in the region, well known for a distinguished and specialized medical team that is always striving to develop and improve health services provided to the local and regional community.

In turn, during a presentation before the forum, the secretary of the committee for supporting the competitiveness of national products and combating practices harmful to them in international trade at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) Jassim Ahmad Al Kuwari highlighted the nature of these practices and the state's role in supporting the competitiveness of the local industry.

He indicated that establishing the committee for supporting the competitiveness of national products and combating practices harmful to them in international trade aims to further protect these products.

He also discussed the objectives of the committee and the importance of establishing a committee for supporting the competitiveness of national products, providing explanations on the concept of harmful practices in international trade, non-tariff barriers, dumping, and others.

He said that the MOIC established the committee to support the competitiveness of national products and combat practices harmful to them in international trade to help local factories and confront harmful practices carried out by factories from other countries to expand in the Qatari market at the expense of the local product by offering imported goods at unjust prices to remove the national product from the market and monopolize it.

He added that the committee for supporting the competitiveness of national products was established to support Qatar National Vision 2030, especially those related to supporting local production and combating harmful practices by conducting the necessary investigations after local factories submitted complaints after being exposed to negative or illegal competition from imported products in some form.

He indicated that these harmful practices are divided into three main categories: dumping, increasing imports, and ad hoc support. He explained that to confront every harmful practice, there are preventive measures taken by the committee, represented by anti-dumping measures, including increasing customs duties imposed on the product concerned with dumping, which are either temporary or permanent. 

During the first two days of the forum on the government procurement plan for 2024, 116 public tenders to be offered by the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) for the year 2024 were presented, with a value of approximately QR 59 billion, in addition to 279 public tenders to be offered by the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) for the same year, with a value of approximately QR 8.9 billion.

The forum also highlights the services provided by the Ministry of Finance and the most prominent advantages of the law regulating tenders and auctions and its executive regulations, in addition to identifying local value opportunities and their economic impact, the mechanism and developments of classifying companies and evaluating the performance of companies in implementing government projects.

At the opening of the forum, the Director of the Government Procurement Regulations Department at the Ministry of Finance Nayef Moaid Al Hababi gave a presentation on the general plan for state procurement for the year 2024, during which he indicated that 2,528 tenders are expected to be issued for 2024, distributed among 16 economic sectors, and more than 100 economic activities according to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC).

Al Hababi indicated that the forum on government procurement plan for 2024 comes within the constant efforts to emphasize the role of the private sector as a critical partner in achieving sustainable development and strengthening the national economy, given the leading role assigned to the private sector in creating job opportunities, stimulating innovation, and providing essential services in the state.

For his part, Director of the National Product Competitiveness Support Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Saif Jassim Al Kuwari addressed framework contracts and their role in supporting local industry, stressing that national industries are at the top of the country's development priorities as they represent a key pillar in the advancement of the national economy and an important element for achieving the country's self-sufficiency and building the future of generations to come in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.

The State of Qatar, Al Kuwari added, is witnessing a noticeable increase in the number of factories operating in the country, with their number today reaching more than 806 factories. (QNA)