Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received the visiting President of Armenia, Armen Sarikissian, at the Amiri Diwan yesterday. They discussed bilateral relation and ways to develop them through cooperation in more areas, especially in the fields of economy, trade, investment, agriculture, tourism and food security.
During the meeting the two leaders exchanged views on a number of issues of common concern. The visit of the President of Armenia, who arrived in Doha on Sunday, is aimed at exploring new realms of cooperation with Qatar, especially viable opportunities in economic and investment sectors.
The visit is a manifestation of the growing friendly relations between Qatar and Armenia. Qatar’s relations with Armenia have been growing in many sectors since November 5, 1997.
Visits by senior leaders of Armenia, notably the visits of former Armenian Presidents Robert Kocharyan in 2002 and Serz Sargsyan in 2009 and 2017 augmented the mutually beneficial ties between the two countries. In the course of their rising cooperation, both countries have signed several agreements and memoranda of understanding related to the establishment of a joint ministerial committee, avoiding double taxation and preventing financial evasion, trade, economic and technical cooperation, encouraging mutual protection of investments, cooperation in the fields of culture, agriculture and tourism.
President Sarikissian praised the distinguished relations between the two countries during the opening of the new headquarters of the Armenian Embassy in Doha on Monday, which was followed by a meeting with the Armenian community in Qatar. Armenia is one of the most advanced countries in the erstwhile Soviet Union in the field of technology, which is the backbone of modern economy for which investment is the main catalyst.
While in the pre-independence period, the Armenian economy depended on the manufacturing of chemical, electronics, machinery, food processing, textiles and synthetic rubber to a large extent, in post-independence phase, the country developed a modern industrial sector based on exporting machinery, textiles and other manufactured goods, offering several opportunities for investors.
Armenia also has a vibrant mining industry with gold, copper, zinc and lead deposits. Qatar’s diplomacy has been growing by leaps and bounds exploring and developing influential and mutually respectful relations with countries big and small across the world. Qatar has been highly successful in making its voice heard in international forums and its contributions to the world bodies such as the United Nations has been beneficial to several global causes bringing in much needed relief especially for the less privileged countries.
The fact that Qatar has witnessed an unprecedented number of visits by leaders of several countries to Qatar in the recent past is a proof of the country’s standing in the world, which is growing on a daily basis. The visit by the President of Armenia is the latest by a leader of a foreign country to Qatar
