ABU DHABI: Qatar and the UAE signed a number of agreements to enhance co-operation between the two countries following the sixth session of the joint higher committee held here yesterday, co-chaired by HE the Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The agreements were signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Separately, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Dubai Exports also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The CEO of QDB Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa and his counterpart from Dubai Exports Saed al-Awadi signed the MoU.
Earlier, in his keynote speech before the session, the Qatari Foreign Minister stressed that the meeting was being held to develop bilateral relations and taken them to the level reflective of the common political will of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan and their efforts to enhancing co-operation.
HE Sheikh Mohamed said: “The session is being held amid difficult circumstances experienced by the Middle East, which require us to redouble our efforts to strengthen this co-operation in order to remove any obstacles”. The Foreign Minister stressed that the agreements that have been signed between the two sides will push bilateral co-operation to wider horizons.
He lauded the businessmen for the efforts they have made and outcome they have reached during the session which was held yesterday 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 both countries.
The UAE minister of foreign affairs and international co-operation said that the two countries share historic relations based on mutual respect and understanding. He added that yesterday’s session was a good opportunity to discuss bilateral relations and plan future co-operation.
The UAE minister of foreign affairs highlighted that trade balance between the two countries had reached $6-7bn. There were 1,074 UAE companies operating in Qatar, he said. The number of Qatari companies working in the UAE on the other hand were 4,200. Al-Nahyan also highlighted the strategic partnerships between the two countries, such as establishing Dolphin Energy. The company produced 1.5tn 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.
