DOHA: The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will pay an official visit to Qatar next month. In response to a request from the British Government, they will also visit Jordan and Oman, in a trip that will begin on March 11 and conclude on March 20.
The tour aims to strengthen the United Kingdom’s bilateral relations with key partners in the region, relations which are underpinned by close personal friendships which exist between the royals and ruling families in each country, Clarence House has said.
With the visits, the UK also seeks to support its economic interests by highlighting the growing commercial links between British companies and their counterparts in Jordan, Qatar and Oman, and by encouraging the development of an enterprise culture in the private sector in each country.
Other themes of the tour will include military collaboration, opportunities for women in society, inter-faith dialogue, education and environmental sustainability.
The tour starts in Jordan and will feature meetings with the King and Queen, an inter-faith gathering to discuss the ‘Amman Message’ on the role of Islam, a major business conference, and a visit to learn how Jordan is coping with the influx of refugees from neighbouring territories.
In Qatar, they will meet the ruling family and senior officials, see first-hand how the country is tackling its food security challenges, visit British technology, innovation and educational partnerships with Qatar and will attend a major event to celebrate the ‘Qatar-UK Year of Culture 2013’.
The final leg of the trip is to Oman, where engagements will cover the work of UK military forces in the region, the support being given to young entrepreneurs by a specialist new-business “incubator” and a regional visit to see an ancient form of water irrigation for oasis communities.
In all three countries, the Duchess will undertake engagements focusing on the role of and opportunities for women in each society.
She will also visit several primary schools to learn about literacy programmes run in conjunction with the British Council — literacy being a central element of her work with charities in the UK.
The Peninsula
