Eduardo González
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, concluded yesterday the first day of his State visit to Spain, the first since his arrival to the Throne in 2013, with a gala dinner at the Royal Palace in the course of which King Philip VI recalled that the Arab State is “one of the main investors in Spain” and “one of the most solid countries in energy supply”.
At the end of his speech at the gala dinner, Tamin Bin Hamad al Thani affirmed his confidence in “the solidity of the Spanish economy” and ordered “an increase in investments in Spain of 5 billion dollars” (4.7 billion euros).
The Emir arrived in Spain on Monday accompanied by his wife, Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim, and a large delegation including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Ministers of Finance, Industry and Trade and the Minister of State for Energy Affairs.
The state visit, as such, began yesterday with an official reception by the King and Queen of Spain and a meeting between the two heads of state at the Zarzuela Palace, and concluded with a gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid in honor of the Sheikh and Sheikhaim. During today, the second and last day of the visit, the head of state will be received by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, with the assistance of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. He will also participate with Sánchez in the opening ceremony of the Spain-Qatar business forum, at the headquarters of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), with the attendance of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; and will be entertained by the head of the Executive with a lunch at the Moncloa Palace, which will be attended by Reyes Maroto and the First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño.
Both the nature of these meetings and the profile of the ministers accompanying the Emir are a declaration of intent regarding the clearly economic nature of the visit. According to government sources, Al Thani’s state visit will allow the signing of an agreement between the sovereign wealth fund QIA and Cofides to increase Qatari investments in Spain in the fields of ecological and digital transition. QIA is the main shareholder of Iberdrola, whose chairman, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, is scheduled to meet with the Emir. In addition, collaboration agreements will be signed with the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the CEOE, according to government sources.
Another important point of the visit, especially in the current European context of disconnection of Russian gas in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s regime, is energy. Qatar is the world’s second largest exporter of liquefied gas after the United States and is among the top five suppliers of natural gas to Spain, below the United States and at the same level as Algeria and Nigeria. According to the aforementioned government sources, the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced last week that there would be “a big announcement” on energy matters during the Emir’s visit to Spain, which suggests that the presence of the Qatari head of state in Madrid will translate into an increase in the supply of liquefied gas to Spain just when it is most needed.
In addition, another of the Government’s objectives is to take advantage of Emir Al Thani’s visit to raise the bilateral relationship to a strategic level, which will involve setting up a regular political dialogue mechanism to follow up on agreements. Twelve agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) will also be signed in the economic, investment, educational, judicial, health and scientific fields and the two governments will issue today a joint statement on the new strategic relationship.
The King thanks Qatar for being “one of the main investors in Spain”
During the gala dinner at the Royal Palace, the King addressed a few words to the attendees in which he highlighted Spain’s interest in “continuing to strengthen its presence in the Gulf region” and congratulated Emir Al Thani for “what his country has achieved in recent times, especially since his arrival to the Throne”. “Qatar has become one of the most economically dynamic countries in the world, the most relevant and solid in energy supply, with the highest per capita income and the highest level of education,” he said.
He also recalled the “strategic partnership that begins with this visit”, which “will be embodied in an ambitious joint declaration and regular dialogue, in addition to the signing of numerous agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoU) in various fields”, and whose “fundamental pillar” is “investment and business relations”. “We appreciate the confidence that Qatar has shown in our economy and its determined will to remain one of the main investors in Spain”, he added.
Al Thani, for his part, indicated in his speech that 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and said that “they have been characterised by continuous development and growing cooperation in all fields, particularly in education, health, investment, energy and the economy”.
The Emir said that all of this was proof of Qatar’s confidence in “the strength of the Spanish economy” and announced that only yesterday he had given instructions to “increase” investments in Spain by 5 billion dollars. “These investments, he said, “will have an added value to our existing successful investments in Spain, taking into account that Qatar is considered one of the largest Arab investors in Spain”.
In addition to representatives of state institutions and the main political groups, prominent businessmen were invited to the dinner, including CEOE Chairman Antonio Garamendi; José Ignacio Sánchez Galán, Chairman of Iberdrola; Rafael del Pino, Chairman of Ferrovial; Esther Alcocer Koplowitz, Chairman of FCC; José Manuel Entrecanales, Chairman of Acciona; Ana Botín, Chairman of Santander; and Marta Álvarez, Chairman of El Corte Inglés.
During yesterday’s visit, the Emir also paid a visit to the Senate, where the presidents of the Congress and the Senate, Meritxell Batet and Ander Gil, presented him with the respective Medals of the two Chambers, and went to Madrid City Hall, where the Mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, presented him with the Golden Key of the City of Madrid as “testimony of friendship and recognition to the Qatari people”. In addition, both the Sheikh and the Sheikha received the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic and the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, respectively.
