President and Qatar Emir discuss closer engagement for growth

• Joint committee to boost bilateral ties
• Assistance to develop ports and infrastructure facilities
• Emir of Qatar agrees to invest in LNG plant
• Seven new agreements signed between two countries

President Maithripala Sirisena, who is on a two-day state visit to Qatar, met with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday.

The President was warmly welcomed by the Emir of Qatar when he arrived at the Emir’s Palace in Doha, receiving a guard of honour at the palace, the President’s Office said in a statement. 

A bilateral meeting between the two leaders commenced after cordial discussions between the two leaders.

The Emir expressed his gratitude to the President for undertaking a state visit to Qatar marking the first trip by the President to the Middle East. 

He also said that this tour of the President would pave the way to further strengthen longstanding bilateral relations between the two countries. 

At present Qatar is ranked as having the highest per capita GDP in the world. During the meeting both leaders discussed ways to broaden ties between their two countries across all sectors. 

The Emir paid special attention to a request made by President Sirisena to enter into a partnership with SriLankan Airlines. He was also receptive to the idea of providing relief over the fees of certification of products when exporting more than one ton of goods to Qatar and promised to take necessary action in this regard.

More than 150,000 Sri Lankans are working in Qatar across many fields while some of them are living there with their families. The President requested the Emir of Qatar to establish a school for Sri Lankan children where the Sri Lankan syllabus was taught. The Emir in response directed the relevant ministers and officials to make necessary arrangements in this regard.

The two leaders agreed to appoint a committee consisting of representatives from both countries to seek paths for cooperation in all sectors.

Sri Lanka and Qatar signed one agreement and six MoUs, which included visa exception for diplomats, cooperation in diplomatic training and research, drought relief, energy cooperation, waste management and financial investigations. 

President Sirisena also attended a luncheon hosted by the Emir in his honour.