UK: Qatar is an indispensable strategic partner

The UK and Qatar share common interests and cooperation agreements making Doha an indispensable partner in the future, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Trade, Mark Garnier, said yesterday.

During a meeting with a delegation of members of the Qatari Businessmen Association, the minister stressed that the two countries have a strategic partnership, especially with more than 600 British companies operating in Qatar, some of which are considered the largest foreign investors in the country.

Garnier noted that the volume of trade between the two countries, which exceeded £5 billion ($6.65 billion) in 2015, represents an indicator of further annual growth. He went on to praise the success of the Qatar and UK Business and Investment Forum in London and Birmingham this year.

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Meanwhile, the association said in a statement yesterday that the British minister valued Qatari investments in the UK at £35 billion ($46.57 billion) and stressed that Britain will be a strategic partner for Qatar to make the World Cup 2022 a success.

Garnier said education is an important area of partnership between the two countries, where about 25,000 British professionals work in Qatar, in addition to the British Council, while 4,000 Qatari students study in UK. This increases annually by approximately 20 per cent.