Qatar's Ambassador to Kazakhstan: Qatar, Kazakhstan Have Advanced Relations Characterized by Friendship, Mutual Trust

Astana, October 10 (QNA) - HE Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Abdulaziz bin Sultan Al Rumaihi, described the relations between the two countries as excellent and developed, characterized by friendship and mutual trust. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion of the state visit that HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, will pay on Tuesday to the Republic of Kazakhstan, His Excellency stressed that the Kazakh authorities attach great importance to this visit, which will undoubtedly give great impetus and support to the development of relations between the two countries at all levels and fields. He pointed out that the visit of HH the Amir to the Republic of Kazakhstan is expected to result in the signing of a set of governmental agreements between Qatar and Kazakhstan in various fields, and that among the most important issues that the leaderships of the two countries will discuss is increasing the volume of trade exchange and establishing Qatari investment projects in Kazakhstan, especially in the agricultural, energy and mining fields. His Excellency Ambassador noted that since the launch of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Kazakhstan on July 1, 1993, there has been mutual support for the two countries’ initiatives in regional and international forums, including Qatar’s accession to the membership of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in 2015, and to the Islamic Organization for Food Security. His Excellency pointed out that there have been many reciprocal visits by senior Qatari and Kazakh officials, most notably the visit of HH the Amir to the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, in January 2014, as it was the first official visit of His Highness to the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the visit of HE President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Doha to participate in the Qatar Economic Forum at the special invitation of HH the Amir in June, noting that HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, was the first Arab leader to visit the capital Astana, after becoming the capital of the country. HE Ambassador affirmed the desire and keenness of the Qatari and Kazakh sides to activate and increase bilateral cooperation in various fields, including political, investment, commercial, economic, cultural, and humanitarian. His Excellency noted that the bilateral relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Kazakhstan are based on the foundations of friendship and cooperation in all areas of common interest, foremost of which is cooperation in the humanitarian field, which he said is aid and grants provided by the State of Qatar to the Republic of Kazakhstan, in addition, the tourism sector between the two countries began to grow with the inauguration of the direct flight line between Qatar and Kazakhstan by Qatar Airways in November 2021, and the opening of the direct flight line between Doha and Almaty, which in turn contributes to opening the fields of economy and trade between the two countries in the future. He said that all these positive matters, including the conduct of cargo flights, the exemption of nationals of the two countries from the requirement to obtain prior entry visas to the two countries' territories, and the opening of Qatar's Al Rayan Bank in the Astana International Financial Center, certainly contribute to revitalizing economic and trade cooperation between Doha and Nur-Sultan. He added that according to the available information, the trade exchange between the two countries is not at the desired level, and that it is necessary to intensify joint work in order to increase the volume of cooperation to acceptable figures. HE the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Kazakhstan indicated that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the State of Qatar has invested in the Kazakh economy, especially in the field of infrastructure, with regard to financial cooperation between Qatar and Kazakhstan, banking cooperation has also been activated with the visit of the Governor of the Qatar Central Bank to Nur-Sultan in December 2019, which resulted in the Qatar Investment Bank issuing Islamic Sukuk in the Astana International Financial Center. On the cultural cooperation between the two countries, His Excellency pointed out that the State of Qatar had financed and built the "Nur Astana" Mosque (which has been renamed to Abu Nasr Al Farabi Mosque now), adding that it is one of the largest mosques in the Kazakh capital and was inaugurated in 2005, upon the initiative of HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani during his first visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1999. A delegation of the State of Qatar from the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding visited Almaty as part of the cultural tour to see the most prominent cultural, artistic, and scientific facilities of Kazakhstan, after choosing the Kazakh language for the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding this year, while the State of Qatar also participates in the work of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which has been organized by the Republic of Kazakhstan every 3 years since 2003, noting that the last sixth session of it took place in 2018. HE the Ambassador explained that the State of Qatar had also financed and opened the Islamic Finance Center, within the Al Farabi Kazakh National University - the largest university in the Republic of Kazakhstan - the first of its kind in the Central Asian region, and that this would teach Kazakh students the assets of financial stock trading, financial engineering, and the necessary technical analysis in stocks and stock exchanges. He stated that during the opening ceremony of the center, in which President of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Dr. Ahmad Hasnah, participated, a tripartite memorandum of understanding between Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Al Farabi University and the Astana International Financial Center, on cooperation in the field of Islamic finance has been signed. In March 2021, Kazakh Nazarbayev University, one of the best universities in Kazakhstan, signed a memorandum of cooperation with Hamad Bin Khalifa University regarding the exchange of students and faculty members in the two universities, and the establishment of joint scientific projects and joint training of specialists, noting that there is an increasing number of Kazakh students studying at Qatar University in various specializations. On the most prominent areas of Qatari support for Kazakhstan, the Ambassador pointed out that Qatar is one of the most aid-giving countries to the Republic of Kazakhstan, noting that one of the most prominent social projects established by Qatar in Kazakhstan is the opening of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani school in September 2018, and the maternity hospital project in the Almaty region, southern Kazakhstan, for which a memorandum of understanding was signed on its construction between the Qatar Fund for Development and the Governor of the Almaty Region, during the first official visit of HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, to the Republic of Kazakhstan on June 10 and 11, 2021, in addition to the construction of the Nur-Astana Mosque in 2005. In the field of health care, HE the Ambassador said that the State of Qatar was one of the first countries in the world to provide medical assistance to the Republic of Kazakhstan in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Qatar Fund for Development sent urgent medical aid to the Republic of Kazakhstan in support of its efforts to combat the pandemic, in implementation of the directives by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. His Excellency said that the Qatari medical aid was a 9-ton shipment consisting of masks, personal protective equipment and protective clothing required for medical personnel. Regarding the progress of the work of the joint higher committee between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Kazakhstan, HE Ambassador explained that the agreement to establish this committee was signed in 1998 as a result of negotiations held between HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and the former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Doha, noting that since then, five sessions of the joint higher committee have been held between the two countries, the last of which in February 2020 in Nur-Sultan. HE Ambassador stressed that the higher committee plays an important role in raising the level of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership by encouraging investment in various sectors and building bridges of communication between businessmen in Qatar and Kazakhstan, being the leading country in the Central Asian region, He explained that the committee's goal is to enhance trade, investment and industrial cooperation and increase the number of commercial exchanges between the two countries. He noted that one of the most prominent results of the previous sessions of the supreme committee was operating direct flights (passenger and cargo flights) since 2021, which contributed significantly to facilitating the flow of goods, services, and investments to the two countries. HE Ambassador Al Rumaihi considered the joint higher committee an important mechanism for developing and deepening cooperation in the economic, commercial, and cultural fields between Qatar and Kazakhstan. (QNA)