QNA
Doha: Ambassador of Portugal to the State of Qatar H E Antonio Alves de Carvalho has said that Qatar and Portugal enjoy close ties and relations, and the two countries are engaged in reinforcing political and economic bilateral cooperation.
He added, in a statement to Qatar News Agency on the occasion of Qatar’s National Day, that Portugal and Qatar established diplomatic relations in 1982 and opened their respective embassies in 2011 and 2012, and since then, the two countries have been building gradually a solid juridical bilateral framework in the fields of economy, investments, trade, taxes, as well as in energy, tourism, sports, science, education and culture.
The Ambassador noted the positive transformations taking place in the country and all the economic and social achievements, especially the recent reform of the labour law, in addition to the achievements in the fields of environment, technology, science, education and sports.
He also highlighted Qatar’s organisation of the Football World Cup 2022, and its intention to become a world sports hub.
He said Qatar is today a country open to the world, defending basic international principles and being a defender of dialogue and multilateralism, assuming a relevant role as a mediator, as a way to solve international conflicts.
Regarding the coronavirus pandemic, the Ambassador said, “I salute the measures taken by the State of Qatar to face the coronavirus crisis and the results achieved. Furthermore, I would like to compliment and recognize the exemplar way the Qatari society faced the challenges that resulted from the pandemic that is affecting the whole world.”
Antonio Alves de Carvalho stressed that the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union in the first semester 2021 will bring new paths to bilateral relations in priority areas for both countries, such as economic recovery, post-pandemic, green recovery, digital economy and social welfare.
