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The Qatar Chamber announced that the delegation which also featured Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal Al Thani of the Qatari Businessmen Association Ambassador Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani and Qatar Chamber board member Dr Khalid bin Klefeekh Al Hajri convened with Bernard Kleynhoff president of risingSUD the region’s investment promotion agency. According to the chamber the talks centred on bolstering bilateral relations while identifying fresh avenues for economic commercial and investment collaboration between Qatar and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur area. The visitors additionally sat down with the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry to examine ways of deepening institutional links between the two chambers and facilitating greater private-sector contact.
A joint business forum organised by the Franco-Qatari economic circle Qadran took place at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes the Qatar Chamber reported bringing together participants from companies such as Amadeus and SAP Labs along with employer groups including Medef 06. The chamber’s statement indicated that conversations addressed high-value-added industries logistics information technology digital services and financial activities with an eye toward concrete projects that could serve both sides. Nice Matin reported that the gathering which followed a similar stop in Monaco the previous day highlighted prospects for skills exchanges technological alliances and reciprocal market entry in addition to capital commitments.
Discussions spanned artificial intelligence energy healthcare industry and luxury hospitality according to coverage in Nice Matin which described the event as an exercise in mutual seduction aimed at surfacing tangible initiatives. risingSUD and local stakeholders outlined the PACA region’s innovation ecosystem for the Qatari visitors the French newspaper noted while emphasising the potential for partnerships that extend beyond单纯 financial inflows. The Qatar Chamber added that roughly 20 Qatari firms operating in diverse fields from energy and technology to real estate construction insurance agriculture tourism and services formed part of the visiting party.
The mission builds on earlier Qatar Chamber outreach to other French territories including a September 2025 visit to Bordeaux that produced a cooperation agreement with the local chamber of commerce Qatar News Agency figures show. In that prior engagement the delegation toured industrial sites belonging to Thales Group and research institutions while participating in a roundtable that spotlighted investment climates in both countries. Bilateral trade between Qatar and France surpassed €1.3 billion in the year preceding the latest trip a Qatar Chamber assessment found underscoring the depth of existing commercial relations.
Invest Qatar data places France among the leading five sources of foreign direct investment into the Gulf state over the past decade with 90 projects attracting more than $7.5 billion in capital expenditure and generating over 7 400 jobs across consumer goods software and business services. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region with its established clusters in maritime technology and high-end services offers particular alignment with Qatar’s National Vision 2030 priorities the chamber noted in its summary of the visit. Meetings extended to economic actors in Nice and additional PACA locations allowing direct exchanges on prospective joint ventures.
The Qatar Chamber stated that the programme forms part of sustained efforts to broaden Qatari private-sector horizons across French regions while encouraging French enterprises to consider opportunities in Qatar. No individual investment commitments were disclosed in the immediate aftermath of the Cannes sessions but both sides expressed interest in follow-up coordination to advance identified prospects. The delegation’s activities were conducted in coordination with Qadran which has facilitated multiple such regional visits over the past decade.
