QNA

DOHA THE Emir His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani and the Prime Minister of People’s Republic of China Wen Jiabao held talks at the Al Wajbah Palace on Wednesday. The Heir Apparent HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani was also present. The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al Thani, a number of their excellencies and ministers also attended the talks.

On the Chinese side, those who participated in the talks, apart from Wen Jiabao, included members of the official delegation the Chinese premier is leading.

The two sides reviewed bilateral relations and means of bolstering them. A host of regional and international issues of mutual interest also came up for discussion.

HH the Emir and the Chinese prime minister held a meeting prior to their official talks. HH the Heir Apparent and the prime minister and foreign minister were also present at the talks.

The Chinese premier arrived in Doha early in the day on a two-day official visit.

He was received at Doha International Airport by the Minister of Energy and Industry HE Dr Mohammad bin Saleh al Sada and the Chinese Ambassador to Qatar HE Zhang Zhiliang.

Later, the official talks led by the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al Thani and Premier Wen Jiabao were held. They dealt with bilateral ties between the two countries and means of promoting them besides regional and international issues of mutual concern.

Later on, the prime minister and his Chinese counterpart witnessed the signing of an agreement to form a Sino- Qatari committee for cooperation between Qatar and China over investment; a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on afforestation, combating desertification and protection of wildlife between the Qatari Ministry of Environment and the Chinese Forest Service; an MoU between Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC); an agreement on crisis management between Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) and China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and an agreement on partnership for the Donghai project among Qatar Petroleum International (QPI), PetroChina and Shell.

Earlier on arrival, the Chinese premier was accorded a warm reception at a grand ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Wen Jiabao said he was happy to be in Qatar at the invitation of the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al Thani. He extended greetings and good wishes on behalf of the Government of China and its people to the Government of Qatar and its people. “Over 24 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Qatar, the two countries have conducted fruitful cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, trade, energy and culture and have maintained good communication and coordination on international and regional affairs,” Wen said in a statement.

He stressed that China attached great importance to its relations with Qatar, underscoring his country’s readiness to make joint efforts with Qatar to continue to deepen the bonds of friendship between the two peoples and achieve more progress through cooperation between the two countries in various fields. Wen Jiabao expressed his confidence that his visit to Qatar would contribute to enhancement of mutual understanding and friendship between the people of both the countries and take the relations between them to the next stage.