Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived last night in China’s capital Beijing on the last leg of the visit to three Asian countries. H H the Amir’s visit to China is followed by highly successful visits to South Korea and Japan.
During the visits, Qatar signed several cooperation agreements on various sectors with South Korea and Japan taking Qatar’s relations with the Asian economic giants to new heights.
This Asian tour is the second by H H the Amir since the beginning of the unjust blockade imposed on the State of Qatar. H H the Amir had visited Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in October 2017.
The current tour marks a new era in Qatar’s relations with these Asian powers and provides a clear indication of the determination of the Qatari leadership to begin new chapters of cooperation with the three countries and develop it to advanced stages of long-term strategic partnerships in order to serve the interests of Qatar and the goals of the National Vision 2030 as well as its people’s aspirations for progress and prosperity.
The current visit opened the prospects of cooperation in the field of sports, especially in the preparation for the World Cup 2022, by benefiting from South Korea’s experience in hosting international sports events. In South Korea, H H the Amir witnessed the signing of several agreements on cooperation in the field of developing smart agricultural industry and eco-friendly farming technology and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in land transport sector among other fields.
H H the Amir’s visit to Japan is significant considering Qatar’s relations with Japan is characterized by historic depth and development, based on the foundations of strong friendship, mutual cooperation, respect and mutual trust.
The visit enhances bilateral relations through signing a series of MoUs covering cooperation in energy, political and security dialogue, education, scientific research, technology, information and communications technology, sports and tourism.
On the last leg of the Asian tour, H H the Amir is expected to witness the signing of several cooperation agreements with China. Qatar’s relations with China has made great progress over the past 30 years. The volume of trade between the two countries increased to $10.3bn in 2017.
China is Qatar’s third largest trading partner and the second largest source of imports, while Qatar is the second largest exporter of LNG to China. In 2015, the first Renminbi clearing house in the Middle East and North Africa region was established in Qatar, which serves the trade and investment exchange between the two countries.
Qatar has been highly successful in developing its friendly relations with countries across the world, whether it is in Europe, Americas or Asia, through the relentless and untiring diplomatic efforts by its leaders. These efforts have helped the country to carve a niche for itself in the global arena and world leaders are listening to the words of Qatar with attention and interest.
