+ A
A -
QNA
Doha
The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani arrived in London on Sunday for a visit to the UK at the invitation of Prime Minister Theresa May. The Amir is accompanied by an official delegation.
"Relations between Qatar and the UK are historic. These relationship dates back to 1971 and is deep-rooted. Many agreements had been signed between the two countries earlier and many more will be signed in the future," Qatar's Ambassador to the UK HE Yousef bin Ali al Khater said.
"The relationships between Doha and London cover many areas, including political, defence and economic sectors," he added.
The ambassador said everyone knows that Qatar is one of the largest investors in the UK and Qatar's investments exceed A£35 billion pounds.
He said Qatar announced A£5 billion support to the UK economy to enhance cooperation in services, infrastructure and energy sectors during Qatar Investment Economic Conference in Birmingham last year.
The ambassador said both Qatar and the UK will discuss investment opportunities in both the countries.
He said the UK is a great supporter of the 2022 World Cup and this shows the strong relations between the two countries.
The official visit comes in line with Qatar's keenness to strengthen and develop its relations with various countries.
The bilateral relations between Doha and London have strengthened and grown steadily over the years, from the early days of oil and gas exploration in the Gulf region, where British companies have played a key role in the development of the oil and gas industry in Qatar and the region. These relations have expanded to include bilateral cooperation in all fields, especially political, economic, commercial, defence, cultural and educational.
The visit of the Amir will focus on bilateral strategic areas, which will strengthen the relations between the two countries and their people, realising full potenstials common interests.
The two sides will also discuss a number of regional and international issues.
This visit will provide an opportunity to open wider horizons for mutual investments at both public and private sector levels.
The UK has been and continues to be the preferred destination for Qatari investments in various fields, particularly real estate.
The Amir met with British Prime Minister Theresa May in London during his last official visit to the UK on September 15, 2016.
The Amir also met May at the United Nations Headquarters last September on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, where the two sides discussed bilateral relations and means of developing them in various fields.
They also exchanged views on various regional and international developments, especially the Gulf crisis and international efforts in support of Kuwait mediation to resolve the dispute through dialogue.
The Qatari-British relations have a historical significance that gives them weight and uniqueness, which is reflected in all areas of cooperation between the two countries.
The two countries have a number of bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding in various fields.
The Qatari wise leadership is keen to transform Qatar into a global hub for knowledge-based industries and innovation, as well as building a sustainable economy capable of achieving high growth rates.
Qatar is also keen on expanding partnership with the UK in education, health, sports and security, areas where the UK is a global leader.
The relations were made stronger in March, 2017, by the Qatar-UK Business and Investment Forum in London and Birmingham. The forum confirmed the strength of the Qatari financial and banking sectors and gave UK companies the chance to know about the available investment opportunities in different sectors in Qatar.
The forum was a new aspect for the Qatari UK economic relations and an opportunity for further Qatari investments in the UK, especially in Birmingham.
Birmingham was chosen as the location of the forum as it is the second largest city in the UK with more than 5 million residents. It also offers promising investments and is expected to hold fast railway network with London.
An associating programme to the forum took place to welcome investors and hold field trips for large investment opportunities. The forum also organised meeting between Qatari businesses with the local business society in Birmingham.
The forum attracted major investments in light of the interest from the Qatari side to invest in Birmingham and benefit from the opportunities available. Qatar is one of the main partners to the UK in the energy sector, where it provides the UK with nearly 30 percent of its natural gas need. The UK is also ranked the sixth trade partner to Qatar.
There are more than 79 UK companies operating in Qatar in the field of oil, gas, infrastructure and information technology with a capital of QR8.1 billion.
There are 672 Qatari-UK companies with a joint capital operating in the Qatar in the fields of engineering consultancy, contracting, information technology, trade and services.
The UK believes in Qatar's strategic and economic importance and is keen to take full advantage of investment opportunities in various sectors through free and fair trade which benefits both countries. The UK also values Qatar's investments in the UK.
The UK seeks to provide more investments in the 2022 FIFA World Cup projects, especially in stadium and cyber security areas. Qatar is the largest market for UK exports in the Middle East and North Africa region. UK exports to Qatar in 2016 reached 2.38 billion English pounds, up 21.7 percent compared to 2014. While the Qatar's exports to the UK in 2015 amounted to about 2.566 billion English pounds, up 20.4 percent compared to 2014.
From a cultural and educational aspect, the UK remains one of the main destinations for Qatari students to complete their education abroad and is continuously increasing.
In 2014-2015, the proportion of Qatari students who went to the UK to study increased by 20.4 percent. The number of Qatari students in the UK has doubled since 2010.
The new partnership agreement signed in 2010 is a milestone in the Qatari-UK relations, under which it was agreed that the two countries would intensify high-level dialogues by initiating regular ministerial-level consultation sessions on regional issues.
