Minister of Justice H E Masoud bin Mohammed Al Ameri (centre); Minister of State and Qatar National Library President H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari (second left); Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of Protocol Director, Ambassador Ibrahim Fakhro (second right); Spanish Ambassador H E Javier Carbajosa (first left) and wife of the Spanish ambassador Ambreen Qazi during the National Day celebration.
Doha: Ambassador of Spain to Qatar H E Javier Carbajosa praised ties between the two countries as Spain marked its National Day on October 12.
The envoy highlighted the visit by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Spain upon the invitation of His Majesty King Felipe VI in May this year.
During the visit, the Amir held meetings with the King and with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón. He visited the Spanish Senate and Madrid’s City Hall and was bestowed the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, which is the highest Spanish decoration granted to visiting dignitaries.
Speaking at a reception, Carbajosa said, “This year marks a significant cornerstone in our partnership. We celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries.”
Meanwhile at the political level, 15 bilateral agreements and MOUs have been signed during the past two years, ranging very diverse areas such as education, economy and science. In addition, Spain has agreed with Qatar a visa-waiver agreement on diplomatic and special passports. Moreover, Spain supports the on-going negotiations between Qatar and the European Commission to lift visa requirement for Qatari nationals.
Regarding economic figures, during 2021, bilateral trade rose by 34%, scoring a value close to ¤1bn. Furthermore, during the first seven months of 2022, bilateral trade rose by 31% driven by the increasing demand of Qatari products from Spain. Qatar is also consolidating its position as fourth supplier of LNG to Spain, with 12% of the total share, a figure that is likely to further increase.
Commenting on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the Ambassador said in a statement, “As the 2022 World Cup approaches, I would like to pay special attention to sports. Qatar and Spain share a passion for sports, especially for football. To this end, Qatar and Spain have signed in 2021 an MoU on Youth and Sports that will enable enhanced cooperation in this field. Moreover, Qatar is in full swing in its preparation to host the first FIFA World Cup that will take place next month.
We all look forward to a memorable and unique tournament. In this sense, H H the Amir has announced that Qatar is committed to organising the first carbon-neutral tournament. We believe it will be a great success not only for the country but also for the whole region.”
He also noted that Qatari reforms to the legislation concerning immigration and labour rights, liberalisation of foreign investments, creation of free zones, the increase of flight frequencies and the opening of new routes to Spain are also contributing to the intensification of the bilateral ties.
“The extraordinary moment in the bilateral relations between Qatar and Spain is noticeable in every field of our partnership. I am convinced that the ever-stronger relations between Spain and Qatar will promote and expand mutually beneficial political, economic and social cooperation,” he added.
