British Ambassador H E Neerav Patel
Doha, Qatar: The longstanding and robust relationship between Qatar and the UK continues to thrive and grow stronger, said the British Ambassador H E Neerav Patel (pictured), yesterday.
Defence and security are among the areas in which Qatar and the UK have made significant achievements over the decades and are seeking to develop them further, said Ambassador Patel while speaking to journalists at his residence in Doha.
The UK is also looking forward to building on existing partnerships with Qatar in areas such as economy, energy, diplomacy, education, health and humanitarian work.
“Qatar is the UK's leading development partner in the Gulf region and we are really excited about where we can go next,” said Ambassador Patel.
He emphasised that defence and security are one of the key pillars of the Qatar-UK relationship and the goal is to develop a comprehensive plan that prepares both countries for the future focusing on broader security cooperation, including cyber security, policing, counter-terrorism, drug prevention, and safety at major public events.
“It's about us learning from each other and both putting in resources and benefiting from one another,” said Ambassador Patel. Another area of focus is the energy sector as it’s an important part of the partnership between both countries. The Ambassador said that Qatar provided 25% of UK’s liquid natural gas in 2022.
“On energy, what we're keen to do is to keep that (ongoing partnership) going, but branch it into clean energy as well, and to have clean energy partnerships where both countries are investing in new technologies,” said Ambassador Patel. UK also seeks to enhance ongoing partnerships in areas like education, genomics, artificial intelligence, and biosecurity. Regarding diplomacy and humanitarian assistance and regional issues, Ambassador Patel commended Qatar’s vital role in Gaza mediation efforts and in repatriating Ukrainian children.
About the trade ties he said, “Qatar and the UK share bilateral trade of £6.6bn and the stock of Qatari investments in the UK is more than £40bn.”
Ambassador Patel highlighting Qatar's "rich and broad set of investments" in the UK said, “The Qatari authorities have been very clear that they see the UK as a growth market and they'll be investing more in the years to come. In the UK, we are providing a series of very important opportunities for Qatar and Qatari investors and businesses.
“We have a new government with a clear majority that's focused on a decade of renewal and they're putting in place a long-term decisions that will allow for a much more sort of coherent business environment,” he said.
The Ambassador said around 300,000 Qatar nationals pay about 1.2 million visits to the UK every year. There are 22,000 British nationals working and living in Qatar.
“This year was also a record year for British visitors to Qatar, even higher than the World Cup year. British visitors are coming, so the tourism sector here is also growing,” he said adding that it indicates the strong people-to-people contacts.
