How to Expatriate Successfully to Qatar

Julie Boisard-Pétrissans, a lawyer by training, gives us the keys to a successful expatriation to Qatar in her latest book "Le Qatar DéQrypté: guide du doing business in Qatar".

Qatar beyond the clichés

Many people arrive in Qatar with a preconceived notion of their host country. The different echoes heard from relatives play an important part in this. Julie Boisard-Pétrissans herself faced a certain lack of understanding from her family and friends when she announced her decision to move to Qatar. It is a country far from France, both geographically and culturally. Even if France has been one of the first targets for massive investments from Qatar in recent years (purchase of PSG, investments in Lagardère, in real estate...), this country remains little known to the French. The place of women can be questioned because of the clichés that some Westerners may have about Arab-Muslim countries. However, Julie Boisard-Pétrissans has experienced an open and welcoming country.

Local meetings...

In order to go beyond the clichés she was aware of upon her arrival, the author immediately made contact with locals to get a feel for the real Qatari culture. Even if she had developed a sensitivity to the Arab culture, because of her numerous trips to the Maghreb, Julie Boisard-Pétrissans immediately noticed strong differences between the Maghreb countries and the Gulf countries.

...sometimes difficult to raise!

85% of the inhabitants of Qatar are not Qatari. Therefore, one may only meet foreigners on the Qatari soil. If the Qatari people are few in number, they remain easily identifiable because they are dressed in the traditional dress (the thobe for men and the abaya for women). Accustomed to welcoming foreigners, Qataris are warm people, but also secretive, protective of their privacy. Qataris are also considerate and respectful.

Strong specificities

While in Morocco, for example, the conversation quickly turns to the family, in Qatar one hardly talks about private life. Of course, you have to ask the person you are talking to how he or she is doing, but that is where it ends. Building a friendship takes time. Qataris do not reveal themselves easily. In business relationships, exchanges are less formal than in Europe. In Qatar, we send few emails because they are not systematically read. WhatsApp and the telephone are the rhythm of professional exchanges! The author was amused to discover that even with high-level representatives, one can easily exchange by WhatsApp. This is probably related to a certain way of conducting business, inherited from Bedouin traditions. Interpersonal contact and exchange are still essential and Western formalism - especially emails - has a hard time catching on.

Doing business in Qatar

How to behave in a professional setting? To succeed in Qatar, you must adopt certain rules and respect certain codes. One mistake you should not make is to arrive on conquered ground. You must remain humble, modest and ready to learn. But also be sure of what you can bring to the table. You should not duplicate what you did in your home country and apply it in Qatar.

Trust is the basis of business relationships. In Qatar, and more widely in the Arab-Muslim world, both personal and business relationships are based on trust. People want to know you before they trust you. So never break a promise, no matter how small. If you don't keep your promises, if you disappoint, you may not be told directly, but you won't hear from them again. It will be polite because the Qataris don't like conflict. Everything will be kept quiet, but the trust and relationship will be broken.

Qataris rarely say "no" and show little emotion, positive or negative. It is important never to make a Qatari lose face or you will disgrace him and his family. Qataris are cautious by nature. Conflicts should be handled in a subtle way, for example by saying "don't you think so", rather than "I don't agree".

The Qatari identity

Even though there are many foreigners, there is a real Qatari identity. We have to go beyond the cliché of a recent and untroubled Qatar, small as the Ile-de-France but extremely rich, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. There is a language, a history, a religion, a culture (including culinary!) and a strong Qatari identity. Local particularities are marked. In Qatar, in the same day, one navigates between conservatism and modernity. The social hierarchy can still be present with, at the top of the pyramid, the Qataris, then the Westerners, then the citizens of other Arab countries (Egyptians, Lebanese ...) and finally the "workers" (workers and domestic employees).  This is a situation that Westerners are not used to.  However, all foreigners can leave Qatar freely and no longer need an exit permit. There is also a minimum wage, as well as free social security coverage. Qatar is one of the only countries in the Gulf to have such a protective and liberal legislation.

How to prepare your expatriation to Qatar? The most important thing is to be aware of your prejudices and to open up to the Qatari culture and specificities. It is essential to speak with people who are on the ground or who have lived there, to try to read, to provoke authentic encounters. Qatar must be understood as a whole before the expatriate adapts his behavior.