Qatar Pavilion at Expo Milano Celebrates National Day

Milano, October 04 (QNA) - Qatar's Pavilion at Expo Milano celebrated on Sunday the National Day of the State of Qatar in presence of HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al-Thani and the Italian Minister of Economic Development Federica Guidi in addition to a number of Qatari and Italian officials. HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce said in a speech on the occasion that the pavilion's celebration of the National Day highlights the rise of the modern State of Qatar under the leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and the comprehensive developments and accomplishments achieved through Qatar National Vision 2030 which is based on four basic pillars: human development, social development, economic development and environmental development. He explained that the National Development Strategy (2011 2016) reflects National Vision which aims at promoting and diversifying the economy to make a productive society and create new opportunities. HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al-Thani added that the State of Qatar, now occupies advanced stages in various fields. At the level of some international institutions indicators Qatar ranked 14th in the World Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum (2015 - 2016) and 20th among the world financial centres according to the report issued by world financial centres index for 2015. His Excellency stressed that the State of Qatar recognized the importance of achieving food security, there for its first choice was the production of food in the country with the participation of the private sector with a strategy to provide agricultural crops in proportion to the domestic demand for food. He explained that Qatar's participation in Expo Milano aims to showcase its experiences in a number of important areas such as food, agriculture, sustainable energy, environment, health, education and culture, as well as to benefit from the successful relevant experiences of countries and the regional and international organizations in these area. HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al-Thani, praised the historical relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Italy and great leap achieved thereon bringing the volume of trade exchange between the two countries during the period from 2009 - 2014 to about USD 3.5 billion. (QNA)