The State of Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries have historically had close relations and trade links with the West, especially the United States. In recent years and decades, however, there has been a steady rise in trade between the GCC and Southeast Asian and East Asian nations including China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The State of Qatar attaches great importance to its ties with the Asian countries, as Asian nations are also the largest importers of LNG from Qatar.
As part of Qatar’s efforts to further strengthen ties with Asian countries, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is heading a delegation to Singapore to participate in the 8th Meeting of the Qatar-Singapore High-Level Joint Committee. The Prime Minister will meets Singapore’s President, Prime Minister, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
During the visit, Sheikh Mohammed will also deliver a lecture at the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, in which he will highlight the principles of Qatar’s foreign policy and the relations between Qatar and ASEAN, especially Singapore.
A number of ministers and senior officials are accompanying the Prime Minister on the visit. In recent years, Qatar has signed several agreements to further cement ties with the Asian countries, as Asian countries are among the most important partners in the field of energy and investment.
Qatar-Singapore relations have seen many developments over the years. In 2006, the Qatar-Singapore High Commission was established, with a view to strengthening the cooperation between the two countries, and through it several bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding by the two countries were signed. They included an agreement in the field of air transport services; an MoU for the development of private cultural awareness in Diplomatic Singaporean Academy, in order to spread and deepen cultural understanding in the Middle East; an MoU on the implementation of training programmes for the Asia-Middle East dialogue, regional training of public administration in Qatar Center; an MoU on tourism cooperation; and an MoU for cooperation in the environmental field. Qatar-Singapore ties have witnessed regular exchange of high level official visits.
On July 5, 2009, Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani issued a decree to legalise the free trade agreement between the Gulf Cooperation Council and Singapore. At present, Qatar is Singapore’s third largest trading partner in the GCC.
