Qatar, S Africa firm up strategic partnership QNA.

Qatari-South African ties are based on strong pillars of fruitful strategic partnership, mutual trust and diverse co-operation to serve bilateral relations between the two countries and the interests of Africa and the Arab region, culminating in an economic diplomacy that plays a constructive role in boosting ties of common concern.

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s visit to South Africa assumes a historic dimension as it is his first since assuming power in 2013 and will, in turn, enhance the ties via a set of fruitful agreements and favourable channels to explore the prospects of investment and economic opportunities in different sectors such as infrastructure, and the possibility of setting up a variety of projects, in addition to new agreements that are notably related to waiving visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and special passports and exchanging expertise in the health sector.

Qatar Investment Authority will have a presence during the visit in order to learn about investment opportunities in ocean economy, which include fishing, shipping and infrastructure projects along South Africa’s coasts.

At the political and economic levels, the past few years witnessed a noticeable progress in relations between Qatar and South Africa that saw diversity in the fields of trade, economy and services through regulating agreements for co-ordination and co-operation such as agreements on establishing diplomatic ties, economic co-operation, encouraging and mutual protection of investments, avoidance of double taxation and financial evasion, bilateral air services, and enhancing two-way investments, in addition to agreements in other fields such as policing, arts and culture, which showed the depth of trust between the two countries and keenness on boosting it.

The visit of South African President Jacob Zuma to Doha in 2012 was a major milestone in the march of bilateral relations as it witnessed the signing of several agreements in different fields, including water, energy, construction, agriculture and infrastructure, embodying the keenness of both countries on building sustainable strategic partnerships of mutual benefit.




Full story at Gulf-Times.