Eduardo González King Felipe VI, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received yesterday in Madrid the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who visited Spain on the occasion of the celebration of the first edition of the Spain-Qatar Strategic Dialogue. The Strategic Dialogue, established after the agreement signed by Pedro Sánchez during his visit to Doha last April, is an annual meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers with inter-ministerial participation that serves to articulate the Strategic Relationship between the two countries. On this occasion, one of the objectives of the Strategic Dialogue is to channel the 5,000 million euros in Qatari investments in Spain committed during the State visit of Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani to Madrid in May 2022, in which both signed an agreement to increase their bilateral relationship to the level of “strategic alliance”. Al Thani's day began at the CEOE headquarters, where he participated in a meeting of the Qatar-Spain Business Committee in which the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, participated - who invited the Qatari delegation to continue promoting investments in Spain -, and the Secretary of State for Commerce, Amparo López Senovilla. Next, Al Thani was received by Albares at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Marqués de Salamanca. This is the fifth meeting between the two, who met on May 29 in Madrid on the occasion of the visit of the Follow-up Committee of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Gaza. The Spanish minister was also in Doha on February 6, where he was also received by the country's main authorities, including Emir. In the press conference after the meeting, Albares declared that Qatar “plays a vital and irreplaceable mediator role” to achieve the ceasefire “that we all want” in the Gaza Strip and expressed Spain's “concern” about the escalation. of violence in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon in Iraq, where “Spain has troops” to ensure “stability and security in both countries. Likewise, he assured that Spain intends to formalize “in the coming days” its participation in the case opened by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the offensive in the Gaza Strip. According to the minister, the documents are already "completely finalized and drafted", but have not yet been sent to The Hague because other countries, including Chile, want to "exchange opinions" with Spain "on the legal arguments." “It will be in the next few days that we will formalize it, we will not wait much longer,” he added. Regarding bilateral economic relations, Albares highlighted that Spain and Qatar registered “1.4 billion euros in trade exchanges in the last year” and that both countries are going through a “key moment of economic transformation, with the triple ecological, digital, social". “For Spain, Qatar plays a fundamental role as the second largest investor in the Gulf, with more than 3 billion euros from 2022,” he said. Furthermore, he continued, “a growing number of Spanish companies participate in relevant projects in Qatar.” “Qatar can count on the full support of the Government of Spain and Spanish companies in achieving its objectives,” he added. For his part, Al Thani praised Spain's decision to recognize the Palestinian State "with the 1967 borders", a "historic step highly appreciated by Qatar and all Arab countries." “The Kingdom of Spain has given an ethical and brave example that shows its Government's support for International Law” and has sent “a clear message, at a critical moment, to the entire world that double standards must end, so customs, and International Law must prevail,” he declared. Regarding the role of Qatar and Egypt as mediators with Hamas based on the ceasefire proposal supported by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, Al Thani assured that “the final formula for the best solution” has not yet been reached. , but “once we finish this process we will communicate with the Israeli side to reach an agreement as soon as possible.” Regarding economic relations, the Qatari prime minister assured that his country has made “large investments” in Spain “in all sectors” and that investments “increased by 22 percent in 2023 in the energy sector.” “Qatar is one of the major gas exporters to Spain,” he continued. In addition, it has a “successful investment environment” that has allowed the presence of “220 Spanish companies in Qatar,” he added. Pedro Sánchez and the King After his meeting with Albares, the Qatari prime minister was received by Pedro Sánchez at the La Moncloa complex, in a meeting that has served to promote “cooperation in all sectors, with special emphasis on trade and investment, but also in the areas of education, culture and innovation,” according to the Presidency of the Government in a press release. During the meeting, both leaders also addressed the situation in Gaza and the President of the Government reaffirmed his support for the mediation efforts carried out by Qatar and warned of the need to promote “a framework for Euro-Arab action that works on the organization of a Peace Conference with the parties involved to implement the two-state solution”, supporting the Palestinian Authority as “the main alternative once the conflict ends”. After this meeting, Albares chaired the political session between the two countries during a lunch with the prime minister at the ministerial headquarters of the Viana Palace, in which the state of the bilateral relationship and the regional and international reality were analyzed and a decision was adopted. Joint declaration. Finally, Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was received in audience by King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Diego Martínez Belío; and the ambassador of Spain in Qatar, Javier María Carbajosa, among others.
