Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June. This was stated in an interview with Izvestia by the Ambassador of Qatar to Russia Ahmed bin Nasser Al Thani. He noted that the country will send a large delegation led by the emir to St. Petersburg; this will be the first visit of an Arab monarch to SPIEF. The ambassador also stressed that all guests of the FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Doha in 2022, will be vaccinated against coronavirus upon arrival in Qatar. The diplomat also noted that the country studied the successful experience of Russia in holding the tournament, and cooperation with Moscow in this area remains broad.
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“Areas of interest for Qatari investors in Russia are numerous”
– In 2010, Qatar, along with Russia, won the right to host matches of the FIFA World Cup, in 2022 the world championship will be held in Doha. Qatar is the first Arab country to host this championship. Did Doha turn to the Russian Federation for help in organizing the tournament? How was this help manifested?
– Cooperation with Moscow in this area began many years ago, it is multifaceted and broad. For example, the Supreme Committee for the Hosting and Legacy of the 2022 World Cup – the Qatari organization responsible for the infrastructure projects of the World Cup – sent its delegation to the championship in Russia in 2018. She studied various organizational aspects of how an event of this scale was conducted by Russian specialists. In the same year, cooperation between the two countries was announced, including in the security and organizational areas, as we want to benefit from Russia’s successful experience in organizing the FIFA World Cup.
– What are the covid restrictions for the guests of the World Cup? The Olympic Committee in Tokyo has already announced that it will not allow fans from other countries to participate in the competition. Does Qatar have similar plans for the World Cup?
– We strive with all our might to organize a championship with the participation of hundreds of thousands of fans, even in the context of the coronavirus. The threat of a pandemic, of course, still has not gone anywhere, but we hope that at the global level it will subside. Qatar is currently exploring the possibility of everyone who attends the World Cup receiving a coronavirus vaccine. We are working on this program, we are negotiating with vaccine manufacturers, and we are thinking about how to make sure that all guests of our championship will be vaccinated. We hope we can organize a coronavirus-free tournament.
– The delegation of Qatar, headed by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of the state, will take part in the SPIEF in June this year. What are the goals of Doha by participating in such an event? Does the emir also intend to hold a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Federation, in particular, with President Vladimir Putin during the visit?
– Without a doubt, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, will meet with His Excellency President Vladimir Putin at the SPIEF. Of course, the emir will have other meetings with high-ranking officials in Russia.
For us, the purpose of participating in the forum is, first of all, to carefully study the real possibilities of how to expand the spheres of cooperation with Russia. It is also important to prepare for the signing of additional agreements and transactions that will help strengthen economic cooperation between our countries and the growth of mutual trade. In general, our goal is to increase the pace of development of relations between Qatar and Russia. (The last time the emir visited Russia was in 2018, during the final of the World Cup on football. This will be the first visit of the head of Qatar to St. Petersburg and the SPIEF. for pandemics. – Izvestia)
– In June last year, the Russian Ambassador to Doha Nurmakhmad Kholov said that Qatar intends to invest over $ 10 billion in Russian projects. In what areas will these funds be directed? What sectors of the Russian economy are most attractive for Qatari investors?
– The size of the proposed investment will be determined in the context of negotiations taking place at the economic level. But what I’m sure of is that we in Qatar are looking to expand our investment in Russia, and we are working to explore appropriate and acceptable opportunities in this context.
The areas of interest for Qatari investors in Russia are many and varied, such as the energy sector, oil and gas, and the trade sector. Not so long ago, the Qatar Investment Fund (QIA) signed a $ 150 million investment deal with the Fix Price network. Qatari capital is interested in investing in various sectors of the economy, there are no restrictions in this sense.
“What our neighbors have done is their sovereign right”
– In March, Russia, Turkey and Qatar held a meeting on Syria. How, according to Doha, should the Syrian crisis be further resolved? On what conditions is Qatar ready to assist the SAR and start investing in the country’s reconstruction?
– There are no conditions. We provide assistance to our Syrian brothers through all available and internationally agreed channels. As for participating in the reconstruction of Syria, Qatar is part of the international community and agrees with it that the reconstruction process is linked to the achievement of a political settlement of the Syrian crisis. This is the international position, and this is what is stipulated by international resolutions.
– The neighboring countries of Qatar – the UAE and Bahrain – last year signed the Abrahamic agreements on the recognition of the State of Israel and the establishment of diplomatic relations with it. How does Doha feel about this? Does Qatar have similar intentions?
“We believe that the establishment of relations with Israel in the current circumstances undermines efforts to create a Palestinian state. But what our neighbors have done is their sovereign right. They have every right to decide what suits their interests. Our position is clear: it is impossible to establish diplomatic relations with Israel until the conflict with the Palestinians is resolved. You cannot negotiate with Israel until the Palestinians are granted their legal rights, until there is a fair solution to their issues. In such conditions, normalization of relations with Israel cannot be the solution. Rather, the solution lies in implementing UN Security Council resolutions, giving the Palestinians their rights and finding a just solution to their issue.