The first round of strategic dialogue between Qatar and Japan has begun

Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, jointly opened the first strategic dialogue between Qatar’s government and Japan’s government at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters.

During the opening remarks, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani welcomed Toshimitsu Motegi and his delegation and announced that a first round of the strategic dialogue between the two countries had begun.

Qatar’s desire to strengthen and expand these ties at all levels, as well as its desire to celebrate next year’s 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations by holding cultural and sporting events in the two countries, were also praised by the Deputy Prime Minister.

In addition, he expressed Qatar’s desire to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and congratulated Japan on its success at this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In his remarks, he lauded the joint economic committee’s regular meetings and stressed the importance of continuing them, expressing Qatar’s desire for the committee to grow and develop in line with the aspirations of its people and leaders. On the subject of economic and investment cooperation between the two countries, he expressed Qatar’s satisfaction with the current level of cooperation and pledged Qatar’s continued commitment to developing it in all fields.

The Deputy Prime Minister reiterated Qatar’s desire to continue the active participation of Japanese companies in infrastructure projects in Qatar and expressed Qatar’s desire to benefit from Japan’s expertise and capabilities in various fields. As an example, he cited the favourable investment environment and services provided by the State of Qatar to investors as reasons why more Japanese companies should invest in Qatar.

The Japanese ambassador to Qatar, Toshimitsu Motegi, lauded the progress made in the bilateral relationship, pointing to the signing of several memoranda during the visit of Qatar’s Amir, H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to Japan in January 2019.

Japan’s economic growth has been supported for many years by Qatar’s steady supply of liquefied natural gas and oil, he said. He called Qatar a true ally of Japan.

This will be an opportunity to start the first strategic dialogue, he said, and to discuss how important it is to establish an international system that is based on the rule of law and cooperation in order to ensure regional stability.

He expressed his confidence that Japan and Qatar will be able to take advantage of this opportunity to further increase the cooperation and relations, especially in the political and security fields, and economic aspects, including the stability of LNG supplies and the early completion of the investment agreement