By Raynald C Rivera
DOHA: Qatar Postal Services Company (Q-Post) yesterday launched a commemorative stamp to mark Qatar National Day.
“National Day is a very special occasion to all of us. The idea is to document this event for the future generations and also it is a good opportunity to expose our pride on our National Day through the postal network,” Q-Post Chairman Faleh Mohammed Al Naemi told the media at yesterday’s launch.
The National Day stamp, with a dimension of 54mm by 37.7mm, was designed by Abdelatif Zaian. “We have chosen to make the design very simple and emphasise on the (National Day) logo with a statement from the founder of Qatar Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammad bin Thani,” explained Al Naemi.
Each stamp is priced QR5, and 40,000 units are available for sale starting tomorrow. Some 2,000 units of First Day Covers, which costs QR6 each, are also ready.
Al Naemi believes issuing commemorative stamp is an excellent way to mark National Day as it provides more exposure for the celebration and the country as stamps travel around the world.
“It cover s a lot of geographical areas and get noticed by a lot of people from the post office to postal operations in other countries until it reaches its final destination where it gives us a lot of exposure.”
There are plans to launch National Day stamps delving on certain themes in the future, but the committee is still discussing as to the frequency of issuing new commemorative stamps. “This is the first edition and we are hoping to practice this in the future. We have a number of options on how we document it. Whether it would be yearly or every five years is still under discussion with the committee.”
Stamps, he said, are still very relevant nowadays not only as a legal tender and way to send letters and parcels but also as a hobby for some people and an ambassador for a country across the globe.
Yesterday’s launch coincides with the opening of an exhibition tracing the history of postal services in Qatar featuring a rare collection of stamps from the Indian Postal Early Period to British Postal Administration period to National Administration period. The expo is located at Katara Building 13.
Qatar places a strong impetus on philately with the opening of the Arab Postal Stamps Museum which serves as repository of over 32,000 stamps from all over the Arab region.
The Museum, said to be the first of its kind in the region, is strategically located in Katara and permanently houses stamps from 22 Arab League member states.
The Peninsula
