GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Qatar and Palestine are working to boost their bilateral trade, taking steps that one expert says will double their exchange over five years.

The Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade) to increase partnership efforts between the two countries. During a Dec. 12 meeting in Doha that was also attended by Palestinian Ambassador to Qatar Amir Ghannam as well as Qatari and Palestinian businesspeople, the two sides agreed to allow nine Palestinian food and agriculture companies to export their products to the Qatari market.

“The Qatari private sector opens its arms to [our] Palestinian brothers. Qatari businessmen are keen on cooperating with their Palestinian counterparts to promote trade exchange between the two sides,” said the chamber's First Deputy Chairman Mohammed bin Ahmed Tuwar in a statement.

PalTrade is a non-profit organization that helps Palestinian companies export their products to Arab and international markets. In 2015, PalTrade introduced the Palestinian Exporter Award to promote trade.