Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s first visit to the Czech Republic is to give a boost to bilateral cooperation in economic and cultural sectors, besides other sectors such as energy, health, tourism and sports. The relations between Doha and Prague have strengthened during the past two years.
H H the Amir and Czech president discussed cooperation in the trade, industry, energy and investment fields and witnessed signing of the joint declaration between Qatar and the Czech Republic on investments and an agreement on economic, commercial and technical cooperation between the governments of the two countries. The Czech Republic opened its Embassy in Doha last month, while Qatar plans to opens its embassy in Prague soon. The two countries established diplomatic relations 32 years ago. The volume of economic cooperation between the two countries stands at $600m.
Czech Republic is one of the fastest growing countries in Europe in infrastructure and medical tourism sectors and Qatar Investment Authority and Qatar Airways are keen to strengthen cooperation in medical tourism. The tourism industry is among the key areas in which the two countries wish to deepen their cooperation, especially in hotel and spa business as well as developing broader tourist infrastructure. The mutual visits and joint meetings between investors and businessmen in the two countries have contributed to raising the rate of trade exchange and provided a platform to discuss partnerships in projects and for a broader view of feasible investment opportunities in a number of promising sectors between the two countries. The First Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic praised the legislative and legal environment in Qatar that attracts investment, the non-bureaucratic administrative system to facilitate the work of companies, tax exemptions granted to investors and investment incentives in all economic sectors.
Czech exports to Qatar are mainly machinery, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and construction equipment, office furniture and electrical equipment and appliances, while Ethylene Polymers represent the most important Qatari exports to the Czech Republic. Czech exports are likely to expand and there is much scope for cooperation in defence, security, space and aeronautics sectors. According to the Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Qatar, any major cooperation between his country and Qatar in energy sector will increase trade exchange between the two countries to a much higher level. The Czech envoy said that the energy crisis in Europe has highlighted the need to diversify suppliers and sources of energy and that Qatar’s reputation of a reliable supplier seems a good choice. Besides, both Doha and Prague aim to enhance their cooperation in agriculture and biotechnologies as well.
