Guernsey has signed a Double Taxation Arrangement (DTA) with Qatar.

The island's treasury minister, Gavin St Pier, signed the agreement with Moftah Jassim Al Moftah, Qatar's director of public revenues and taxes, at a meeting in London.

Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of Guernsey Finance - the promotional agency for the island's finance industry, said it was 'another important step in diversifying the business base of Guernsey's finance industry'.

'We have been actively promoting Guernsey's financial services offering within the Middle East for several years and more recently a number of the island's firms have established offices in the region.

'The DTA deepens the relationship and it also offers significant potential for expanding financial services business. It provides clarity and certainty on matters of taxation, which makes it more attractive to conduct business between the two jurisdictions.

'Guernsey's position close to Europe but outside the EU means that we can provide a range of options for fund managers in relation to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive [AIFMD]. In addition, we have also expanded our offering for fiduciary clients through the introduction of Guernsey Foundations and world-first image rights legislation.'

Le Poidevin said she expected similar agreements to be signed with other Gulf states in the 'near future'.

Guernsey has now signed 17 DTAs, made up of 11 'partial' DTAs and six 'full' DTAs, with the Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Qatar, Singapore and the UK.

In addition, Guernsey has signed 40 Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs), including with 16 members of the G20.

Guernsey has also agreed in principle to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the US in relation to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and to adopt similar arrangements in relation to the UK.