The King held a meeting this Tuesday with the emir of Qatar, Tamin bin Hamad al Thani, at the Zarzuela Palace, on the first day of the Qatari president's state visit, to which the Spanish government attaches great importance. Qatar has the highest per capita income in the world and is one of the main investors in key sectors of the Spanish economy, a presence that it wishes to increase, in addition to being the second world gas exporter behind the United States, a key detail in the current context of energy crisis in Europe.
During the meeting, Felipe VI and Al Thani addressed the main bilateral issues. The foreign ministers of both countries and their respective ambassadors have also attended. The emir travels accompanied by a large delegation from his government, which includes the deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, the minister of finance, the minister of industry and trade, and the minister of state for energy affairs. He is also accompanied by his wife, Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim al Thani. During the visit, which has a marked economic nature, agreements will be signed in various fields, but the agreement between the sovereign wealth fund of the emirate QIA and the Cofides company to increase Qatari investments in the coming years in areas such as the ecological and digital transition stands out .
The visit began this Tuesday, at 11 a.m., with the formal reception, with military honors, of Al Thani and his wife by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, at the Royal Palace. to the nearby seat of the Senate, where a brief joint session of the Spanish Courts was held, in which he took the floor to emphasize that his country and Spain "have a lot in common" and he expressed his conviction that his visit State will strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The President of the Lower House, Ander Gil, and the Speaker of the Upper House, Meritxell Batet, have awarded him the medals of honor of both chambers, a gesture that Al Thani has thanked and has highlighted that Qatar and Spain have "historical relations" that this year they celebrate their 50th anniversary, and that they will be reinforced in all areas with this visit. "We yearn for friendly relations between Qatar and Spain, two countries that have a lot in common, especially many values in common", he underlined.
The president of the Senate has also spoken, expressing the wish that bilateral relations be strengthened. "We have to deepen the economic and social transformations that we have already promoted and think in terms of modernization, commercial and cultural cooperation and the diversification of our markets", said Ander Gil. "We trust in a greater strengthening of relations," he concluded.
This is Al Thani's first visit to Spain since he succeeded his father in 2013 after his abdication. The Spanish Government is very interested in increasing its relations with Qatar, which, together with the United Arab Emirates, is already one of the main investors in key sectors of the Spanish economy such as civil aviation, finance, construction, energy or infrastructure, but wishes to increase and diversify that presence, in particular in areas such as sustainability, ecological and energy transition, and digital. Qatar's investments in Spain currently amount to some 2,700 million euros.
During this visit, it is also planned, reports Efe, that Spain and Qatar will raise their political relations to the level of a strategic association, which will imply the launch of a regular political dialogue to follow up on their agreements. It is a mechanism that so far Qatar only has with seven other countries: the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, Turkey and China. This special association will be initialed in a joint declaration that the two governments will issue this Wednesday.
But sources from the Executive point out the importance that the visit will have in the economic field since it is intended to give a great boost to bilateral relations that will take shape with the signing of a series of agreements. The most important will be the collaboration between the sovereign fund of the emirate QIA (one of the most important in the world and with assets worth 450,000 million euros) and the state development financing company Cofides. Through this agreement, investment opportunities will be identified within the framework of the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, although the Government does not specify projects in which there will be such investment.
The Ministries of Economy will also sign a memorandum to deepen economic relations, one of the twelve agreements of various kinds that will be signed during the visit. Several of them will be signed on Wednesday at the Moncloa Palace on the occasion of the meeting between the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Qatari Emir, and others will be signed at the business forum organized by the CEOE and which the President will also attend of the government.
After the meeting this afternoon between King Felipe and Sheikh Al Thani at the Zarzuela Palace, the King and Queen offered the Qatari monarch and his wife a private lunch. The traditional dinner of honor is scheduled for tonight at the Royal Palace.
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