Working visit of the President Armen Sarkissian to the State of Qatar

The President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian paid a working visit to the State of Qatar.

Within the framework of the visit, President Sarkissian is scheduled to meet with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The agenda of the meeting will focus on strengthening ties and developing relations between the two countries, as well as in the context of regional events.

The State Minister of Qatar Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and other officials met the President of Armenia at the Doha International Airport.  

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Today, within the framework of his working visit to the State of Qatar, the President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian met with the Father Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha.

President Sarkissian and Father Emir touched upon the prospects of developing relations between the two countries and regional issues.

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The President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is in the State of Qatar on a working visit, met with the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Welcoming the President of Armenia, the Emir of Qatar highly appreciated the atmosphere of mutual trust and constructive dialogue between Armenia and Qatar, as well as his warm relations with the President of Armenia.

President Sarkissian noted that Armenia is interested in deepening cooperation with the Gulf countries in various spheres, and that Qatar is one of our country's strong partners in this context.

The President of Armenia presented the information on the situation in Armenia, the current challenges, and in particular, humanitarian issues.

The President of Armenia and the Emir of Qatar stressed the great potential for cooperation between the two friendly countries, and the mutual readiness to expand and strengthen relations. They touched upon the agreements, reached during the previous meetings, the implementation of which was slowed down due to the coronavirus pandemic and the war, and stressed the need to implement them as soon as possible.

The interlocutors noted that the two countries can advance their relations, especially in the fields of information technologies, scientific-educational innovation, finance and banking, tourism and climate change.

President Sarkissian said that Armenia strives to become a leader in high technologies and innovations. In this context, he referred to the ATOM Presidential Initiative, which aims to develop the latest technologies in Armenia and artificial intelligence, and noted that Qatar can also be an important partner in this program.

Noting that Armenia has immense investment opportunities in various spheres, President Sarkissian particularly said: "We will welcome the interest of Qatari companies in various sectors of the Armenian economy, we are ready to support potential investors. Artificial intelligence, science, the financial-banking system, education and culture are the areas where our cooperation can deepen."

During the meeting, they also spoke about cooperation within the framework of the "Debt-for-Climate-Swap" program.

The President of Armenia and the Emir of Qatar also touched upon a wide range of regional issues.

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President Armen Sarkissian met with Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Missned, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation and Education Above All Foundation, UN Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser al-Missned happily recalled her visit to Armenia and the shown warm reception.

Welcoming the personal efforts of the Sheikha, especially in education and science, also the implemented significant programs, President Sarkissian said that there are great opportunities for cooperation of common and coinciding interests. The President noted that his wish is to see Armenia as an educational and scientifically innovating country, to have a new type of education system based on innovations, for that is the future.

Speaking about the opportunities for cooperating in science, education, and culture, the President said that the Matenadaran, the research institute for ancient manuscripts in Armenia, preserves thousands of Arabic manuscripts and books. He attached great importance to carrying out mutual research work, exchanging specialists, and organizing reciprocal exhibitions.

Noting that the earlier agreements somewhat had become stagnated due to the pandemic, the interlocutors considered it necessary to resume the activities of the working group.

President Sarkissian also presented the ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow) Presidential Initiative aimed at developing the latest technologies and science in Armenia, the purpose of which, in particular, is to become a platform where Armenian and international companies, research centres, and universities will cooperate and implement joint research projects. The President said that the Qatar Foundation could also be an interesting partner in this program.

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Within the framework of his working visit to the State of Qatar, on the evening of December 10, President Armen Sarkissian met with members of the executive body of the Armenian community of Qatar at the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Doha.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the State of Qatar Armen Sargsyan and the Pastor of the Armenian Diocese of Qatar, Father Boghos Arch. Tinkjian welcomed President Sarkissian.

In his speech, the President referred to the Armenian-Qatari relations, as well as the situation in Armenia.

Noting that the Armenian Embassy in the State of Qatar opened with the active support of the Emir of the State of Qatar, President Sarkissian once again thanked the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the friendly people of Qatar, and said that it was a special step of friendship. "We must do everything to strengthen and expand this friendship, the fraternal relations between the two peoples, " said the President of Armenia.

Referring to his working visit, President Sarkissian particularly noted: "During this visit, I met with the Emir, Emir's father, Sheikha Moza, and other officials. They reaffirmed their warm attitude towards our state and people and their readiness to cooperate.

We assume to have this cooperation in different directions, first of all in culture and education. This is about the Qatar Foundation. We spoke with the Foundation and Sheikha Moza, in particular, about the cooperation between educational systems and startups in modern technologies, science, artificial intelligence, and information technologies. Years ago, Sheikha Moza was in Armenia for one day; impressed, she intends to visit Armenia again.

There are programs that deal with Armenia-Qatar economic relations. They can be, for example, in the field of tourism, where Qatar has enormous potential. The same applies to Armenia as well. Unfortunately, this potential has remained unrealized. In principle, tourism in Armenia can increase many times, bringing a huge investment to our country. State-level cooperation between institutions in energy, new and modern technologies is also essential. I attach much importance to the interest and attention of state institutions of Qatar, and Qatar Investment Authority to Armenia, as an investment country.

I have had many visits not only to this country but also to the United Arab Emirates, and recently, for the first time, a high-ranking Armenian state delegation visited Saudi Arabia, a country, with which we have not had diplomatic relations for thirty years. And I am glad to say that during that visit, my meetings with Prince Mohammed bin Salman established a relationship. I saw the same warm attitude there as well. We have not had diplomatic relations for thirty years, and the head of state says the warmest words about our people.

We must move forward; that is the logic of life. One of the most significant values ​​of Armenians is the strong sense of survival. If we have managed to survive after the Armenian Genocide and recover in different centres of the world, from Qatar to Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and Moscow, find ourselves, build churches and schools in distant Siberian cities, stay Armenian, then we will be able to look to the future, recover and go forward.

This defeat is painful and tragic because we lost thousands of young lives, we have people in captivity, and we must do everything to bring them back as every one them is a member of our family. But he must also think about the future. If we do not think today, we will face greater difficulties afterwards.

If we can have a clear vision, program, discipline, commitment, and nationwide unity, I am sure we will get out of this situation. The past of our people proves that we have all the highest values ​​to get out of this situation, to think about further victories: economic, political, and demographic."