Qatar - UAE Joint Higher Committee Holds Session

Doha , May 02 (QNA) - The sixth session of the joint higher committee between the State of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was held here Monday, co-chaired by HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. In his keynote speech before the session, HE the Qatari Foreign Minister welcomed UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his accompanying delegation in their second country (Qatar) and wished success to the sixth session of the joint higher committee. HE the Foreign Minister also expressed his thanks and appreciation to the members of the preparatory committee of senior officials, representatives of government agencies and private sector for their efforts being made in preparing for this session and its fruitful results. His Excellency stressed that the meeting was held today to develop bilateral relations and boost them to the level of the common political will of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al -Thani and the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and their efforts towards enhancing joint cooperation and push it towards to wider horizons in various fields to meet the aspirations of our peoples. HE Sheikh Mohammed said that the session is being held amid difficult regional situations experienced by the Middle East, which requires us to redouble efforts to strengthen this cooperation in order to remove any obstacles poses its march to reach fruitful results to serve the common interests of the two brotherly countries. HE the Foreign Minister stressed that the agreements that have been signed between the two sides will push bilateral cooperation to wider horizons. His Excellency expressed his appreciation for the businessmen for their efforts they have made and outcomes they have reached during the session which was held Monday morning by Qatar Chamber and Federation of UAE Chamber Of Commerce and Industry in order to develop trade, investment and industrial activities to serve the private sector in our countries. For his part, The UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed his thanks to the State of Qatar for hosting the session. He added that he conveyed to HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani the greetings of the President of UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Foreign Minister also conveyed the greetings of Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the greetings of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE Foreign Minister said that the two countries share a historic relation based on mutual respect and understanding. He added that today's session was a good opportunity to discuss bilateral relations and plan the development of bilateral cooperation. The UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted that trade balance between the two countries reached $6-7 billion. There were 1074 UAE companies operating in Qatar, the Emirati official said. The numbers of Qatari companies working in the UAE on the other hand were 4200. Al Nahyan also highlighted strategic partnerships between the two countries, such as establishing Dolphin Energy. The company produced 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas by the end of March 2016. In the field of air transport, the number of flights by the two countries national carriers to Qatar and UAE currently stands at 175 flights a week. The number of Emirati visitors to Qatar was more than 117,000, while the number of Qatari visitors to the UAE was more than 231,000. At the end of the meeting, the two foreign ministers signed a number of agreements to enhance cooperation between the two countries. Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Dubai Exports signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The CEO of QDB Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al-Khalifa signed the agreement with his counterpart from Dubai Exports Saed Al Awadi. (QNA)