Qatar’s move to preserve its Arabic language roots may hurt its position as an international business center

The Qatari legislator has issued Law 7/2019 on the Protection of the Arabic Language. The law addresses both the public and the private sectors and seeks to preserve the use and relevance of the Arabic language in the Emirate, where, due to the high number of expatriates, foreign languages – and English in particular – have become dominant in public life.

Arabic only when negotiating and contracting with the public sector

The law requires all ministries, government agencies and other public bodies and institutions to use the Arabic language in their meetings and discussions, decisions, regulations, contracts and correspondence. Considering the law’s wide application to dealings of the public sector, businesses working for public sector clients will likely have to engage much more in Arabic language communication and documentation.

While this is not new with respect to regulatory matters such as taxation and auditing requirements as well as incorporation and licensing issues, contracts and negotiations with the public sector have typically been in English. Since the law now mandates that the public sector needs to use Arabic language in all contracts and negotiations, businesses have to be ready to conclude Arabic-language agreements and negotiate these in Arabic when contracting with the public sector. It is to be expected that bilingual contracts will be accepted. However, considering the provisions of the law, Arabic versions of multi-lingual agreements will most likely be the only decisive versions. Thus, especially foreign businesses will have to ensure that translations do accurately reflect the Arabic contract text in order to ensure that they apply the correct terms.

Furthermore, businesses will have to rely on translators or Arabic speaking staff when negotiating with the public sector. Finally it remains to be seen whether this requirement to use Arabic language in negotiations will also extend to dispute resolution. If that were the case, the Qatari public sector may be required to have mediations, arbitrations and court proceedings – even if such proceedings are held in foreign courts – to be held in Arabic.

Will expat employees of the public sector be able to do their jobs?

In addition, the law requires the public sector to use Arabic in meetings and discussions. This will make life much more complicated for the public sector itself. Public sector entities in Qatar employ large numbers of expatriates, many of whom do not speak or read Arabic. Thus, it remains to be seen how the public sector seeks to conduct internal meetings and discussions including non-Arabic speakers.

It appears unrealistic that the Qatari public sector would, in the short term, replace all non-Arabic speakers with employees that are proficient in Arabic. Relying on translators, on the other hand, would raise operational costs of the public sector and possibly hurt smooth and effective workflow.

Public procurement just got more expensive

The law will likely increase third party expenses of the public sector. If all businesses working for the public sector have to work with Arabic language documents and conduct negotiations in Arabic, then they will have to employ translators or staff that this proficient in Arabic.

Consequently, the cost of doing business with the public sector will increase. That businesses will be willing to bear these additional costs themselves is unlikely. They will probably consider these additional costs in their pricing for government contracts. Hence, the price of supplies for the public sector will increase.

Finally, some (foreign) businesses could also shy away from dealing with Qatar. This would limit the selection of goods and services the public sector could choose from and, thereby, reduce quality of solutions available to the public sector.

Businesses need to make up new trade names

Furthermore, the law requires companies and foundations with commercial, financial, industrial, scientific, recreational or other purposes be given Arabic names. Thus, effectively all companies registered in Qatar will have to take Arabic names. Simply spelling a foreign company’s name out in Arabic letters will apparently not be sufficient anymore. This will likely be perceived as a tedious hurdle by foreign business.

While the law provides for an exception, exemption from taking an Arabic name is reserved only to companies whose foreign names or product names have a registered international reputation. It remains to be seen what the competent authorities will consider to be a “registered international reputation” within the meaning of the law.

Finally, parties who are subject to the provisions of this law must comply with the provisions of the law within six months from the date of its implementation. Non-compliance may be penalized with fines of up to Qatar Riyal 50,000 (ca. USD 11,000).

It is understandable that Qatar would take steps to ensure that its official language of Arabic does not disappear from the public sphere. However, the restrictive approach of the law will likely have a negative impact and hurt Qatar’s role as an international business center. A rigid application of the law will also hurt processes in the public sector, which may further limit Qatar’s attractiveness to businesses and investors.