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Tribune News Network
Doha
On the occasion of the National Day of Spain, which is marked on October 12, Spain’s Ambassador to Qatar HE Belen Alfaro praised the historic relations between her country and Qatar in all fields. She expressed confidence that both the countries will continue to work together to further develop the relations to an even higher level under the leadership of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
“October 12 marks an important date for Spaniards all around the world. We celebrate the National Day of Spain on the day in which, 524 years ago, Christopher Columbus discovered the American continent, an enterprise promoted and financed by the Spanish Monarchy. This discovery opened the path for a profound exchange between two different worlds and created a community that gathers today more than 500 million Spanish speakers worldwide,” she said in her message.
As for the bilateral relations between Qatar and Spain, they remain excellent and inspired by the strong affection between both royal families, she noted. “During 2021, Doha has welcomed two ministerial visits from Spain. The most recent one took place on September 14 when Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares paid a visit, meeting the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his counterpart Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Moreover, also in September, HH the Amir held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Pedro S?nchez to express his solidarity with the Kingdom of Spain after the volcano eruption in La Palma and to discuss bilateral, regional and international developments,” the envoy said. She continued, “Moreover, I would like to refer to three areas of our bilateral relations: culture, sports and economic relations.
“First of all, I would like to refer to education and cultural cooperation. Spain has very important historic relations with the Arab world due to the Arab heritage and legacy of Al-Andalus. Qatar and Spain have signed an Agreement of Cultural Cooperation in 2021 which will boost our partnership in this field. For instance, the exhibition of ‘The Majlis – Cultures in Dialogue’, a project by Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, has just opened in the Alhambra in Granada, after being displayed in Madrid.
“In Education, the learning of the Spanish language is on the rise in Qatar. The Spanish language has an 8 percent of Arabic words from the history of Al Andalus. It is the 2nd most spoken language in the world as a native language, the official language of 21 countries. It is the 2nd most used language in international communication and the 2nd most used language in social media, in Facebook and Twitter.
“There is a Spanish International school in Doha –SEK-, and Qatar University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University offer a wide range of classes for adults and children and more and more private schools in Doha are offering Spanish as a foreign language in their curriculum.
“Secondly, I would like to pay special attention to sports. Qatar and Spain share a passion for sports, especially for football. In this regard, Qatar and Spain have signed in 2021 a MOU on Youth and Sports that will enable enhanced cooperation in this field. Moreover, Qatar is in full swing in its preparation to host the first FIFA World Cup next year. The Qatari vision is to organise a memorable and unique tournament. In this sense, HH the Amir has announced that Qatar is committed to organizing the first carbon neutral tournament. We believe it will be a great success not only for the country but for the region.
“There is an on-going cooperation between Qatar and Spain that definitely will contribute to the great success of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In this regard, Spain is contributing to enhance sports culture in Qatar in many ways: through Aspire Academy and Aspetar, where very qualified Spanish professionals work, with top Spanish players in Qatari teams. Many Spanish companies have also been contributing to the development of the infrastructure projects designed to service the World Cup, such as the metro, airport, roads, etc. Two of the eight 2022 Qatar World Cup Stadiums have been designed by the Spanish architecture firm Fenwick Iribarren Architects: Education City Stadium and Ras Abu Aboud Stadium.
“Our bilateral ties are enhanced by the economic cooperation in many different fields, such as construction, architecture, food and beverage, facility management, consultancy services, healthcare sector, fashion retail, energy and water, sport business, or IT sector, among others. Spanish business performance in Qatar is robust and sustainable with around 200 companies who wish to remain in Qatar and become reliable partners for local companies.
“Furthermore, since February 2019 the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade has awarded our businessmen in Doha with the official title of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain to Qatar, as a formal recognition for the prominent job that Spanish companies are doing in Qatar. The role of the Chamber is key for creating spill-over effects into the Qatari market. Our professional skills, quality of the products and competitiveness are being transferred to the local business environment in close collaboration. Thus, the institutional support to foster long-term commercial and economic between Spain and Qatar is bearing fruit, and now we can say that Qatar is a strategic partner of Spain, as evidenced by the trade and investment figures.
“Our bilateral trade was about €1,3bn in 2019 after years of steady growth. In 2020 bilateral trade dropped around 43 percent because of the pandemic, but once the economic recovery shows up, our bilateral trade will keep its traditional upward trend. Spain is a country that depends on foreign energy supply and Qatar is one of our leading suppliers of gas. On the other hand, Spanish exports to Qatar are well diversified; the main items of our exports are machinery, mechanical appliances, clothing, electric and electronic devices, and equipment and furniture.
“In the area of direct investments, Qatar´s capital investment stock has registered steady growth in the last years, and QIA has made important investments in Spain. By way of illustration, QIA holds stakes as relevant as the one in Iberdrola, with an 8.6 percent share of its equity. We may also find equity holdings in Colonial, Marina Port in Tarragona, W Hotel in Barcelona, Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid or even a small share of the Banco Santander in Brazil, among others. Spain is an attractive destination for investments, since it is the natural gateway to Europe, the Mediterranean and Latin-America. Spain is the first European investor in Latin America and the second in the world after USA. These ties to the Latino world offer to Qatar a trustable partner to open the door for new markets investment. Our businesses in the field of telecommunications, financial and insurance sectors, energy, tourism, or infrastructure are well-known, making our companies attractive for cooperation around the world.
“In terms of tourism, Spain is the second most popular destination for international visitors, and it is seeking to recover and exceed pre-pandemic levels. Qatari tourists are eager to return to Spain, and many Qataris have visited my country in the first two months since the borders reopened in July. As a result, Spain will reappear as an appealing destination for natural parks and beautiful beaches. Our country ranks third in the world in terms of natural areas designated as Biosphere Reserves, and it has the most Blue Flag beaches in the entire Northern Hemisphere. As previously stated, cities such as Seville, Granada, and Cordoba are popular due to their Arab heritage.”
Doha
On the occasion of the National Day of Spain, which is marked on October 12, Spain’s Ambassador to Qatar HE Belen Alfaro praised the historic relations between her country and Qatar in all fields. She expressed confidence that both the countries will continue to work together to further develop the relations to an even higher level under the leadership of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
“October 12 marks an important date for Spaniards all around the world. We celebrate the National Day of Spain on the day in which, 524 years ago, Christopher Columbus discovered the American continent, an enterprise promoted and financed by the Spanish Monarchy. This discovery opened the path for a profound exchange between two different worlds and created a community that gathers today more than 500 million Spanish speakers worldwide,” she said in her message.
As for the bilateral relations between Qatar and Spain, they remain excellent and inspired by the strong affection between both royal families, she noted. “During 2021, Doha has welcomed two ministerial visits from Spain. The most recent one took place on September 14 when Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares paid a visit, meeting the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his counterpart Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Moreover, also in September, HH the Amir held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Pedro S?nchez to express his solidarity with the Kingdom of Spain after the volcano eruption in La Palma and to discuss bilateral, regional and international developments,” the envoy said. She continued, “Moreover, I would like to refer to three areas of our bilateral relations: culture, sports and economic relations.
“First of all, I would like to refer to education and cultural cooperation. Spain has very important historic relations with the Arab world due to the Arab heritage and legacy of Al-Andalus. Qatar and Spain have signed an Agreement of Cultural Cooperation in 2021 which will boost our partnership in this field. For instance, the exhibition of ‘The Majlis – Cultures in Dialogue’, a project by Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, has just opened in the Alhambra in Granada, after being displayed in Madrid.
“In Education, the learning of the Spanish language is on the rise in Qatar. The Spanish language has an 8 percent of Arabic words from the history of Al Andalus. It is the 2nd most spoken language in the world as a native language, the official language of 21 countries. It is the 2nd most used language in international communication and the 2nd most used language in social media, in Facebook and Twitter.
“There is a Spanish International school in Doha –SEK-, and Qatar University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University offer a wide range of classes for adults and children and more and more private schools in Doha are offering Spanish as a foreign language in their curriculum.
“Secondly, I would like to pay special attention to sports. Qatar and Spain share a passion for sports, especially for football. In this regard, Qatar and Spain have signed in 2021 a MOU on Youth and Sports that will enable enhanced cooperation in this field. Moreover, Qatar is in full swing in its preparation to host the first FIFA World Cup next year. The Qatari vision is to organise a memorable and unique tournament. In this sense, HH the Amir has announced that Qatar is committed to organizing the first carbon neutral tournament. We believe it will be a great success not only for the country but for the region.
“There is an on-going cooperation between Qatar and Spain that definitely will contribute to the great success of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In this regard, Spain is contributing to enhance sports culture in Qatar in many ways: through Aspire Academy and Aspetar, where very qualified Spanish professionals work, with top Spanish players in Qatari teams. Many Spanish companies have also been contributing to the development of the infrastructure projects designed to service the World Cup, such as the metro, airport, roads, etc. Two of the eight 2022 Qatar World Cup Stadiums have been designed by the Spanish architecture firm Fenwick Iribarren Architects: Education City Stadium and Ras Abu Aboud Stadium.
“Our bilateral ties are enhanced by the economic cooperation in many different fields, such as construction, architecture, food and beverage, facility management, consultancy services, healthcare sector, fashion retail, energy and water, sport business, or IT sector, among others. Spanish business performance in Qatar is robust and sustainable with around 200 companies who wish to remain in Qatar and become reliable partners for local companies.
“Furthermore, since February 2019 the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade has awarded our businessmen in Doha with the official title of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain to Qatar, as a formal recognition for the prominent job that Spanish companies are doing in Qatar. The role of the Chamber is key for creating spill-over effects into the Qatari market. Our professional skills, quality of the products and competitiveness are being transferred to the local business environment in close collaboration. Thus, the institutional support to foster long-term commercial and economic between Spain and Qatar is bearing fruit, and now we can say that Qatar is a strategic partner of Spain, as evidenced by the trade and investment figures.
“Our bilateral trade was about €1,3bn in 2019 after years of steady growth. In 2020 bilateral trade dropped around 43 percent because of the pandemic, but once the economic recovery shows up, our bilateral trade will keep its traditional upward trend. Spain is a country that depends on foreign energy supply and Qatar is one of our leading suppliers of gas. On the other hand, Spanish exports to Qatar are well diversified; the main items of our exports are machinery, mechanical appliances, clothing, electric and electronic devices, and equipment and furniture.
“In the area of direct investments, Qatar´s capital investment stock has registered steady growth in the last years, and QIA has made important investments in Spain. By way of illustration, QIA holds stakes as relevant as the one in Iberdrola, with an 8.6 percent share of its equity. We may also find equity holdings in Colonial, Marina Port in Tarragona, W Hotel in Barcelona, Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid or even a small share of the Banco Santander in Brazil, among others. Spain is an attractive destination for investments, since it is the natural gateway to Europe, the Mediterranean and Latin-America. Spain is the first European investor in Latin America and the second in the world after USA. These ties to the Latino world offer to Qatar a trustable partner to open the door for new markets investment. Our businesses in the field of telecommunications, financial and insurance sectors, energy, tourism, or infrastructure are well-known, making our companies attractive for cooperation around the world.
“In terms of tourism, Spain is the second most popular destination for international visitors, and it is seeking to recover and exceed pre-pandemic levels. Qatari tourists are eager to return to Spain, and many Qataris have visited my country in the first two months since the borders reopened in July. As a result, Spain will reappear as an appealing destination for natural parks and beautiful beaches. Our country ranks third in the world in terms of natural areas designated as Biosphere Reserves, and it has the most Blue Flag beaches in the entire Northern Hemisphere. As previously stated, cities such as Seville, Granada, and Cordoba are popular due to their Arab heritage.”
