The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson,W addressing the press conference.

By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter

Boris Johnson said yesterday that the City of London offered a lot of opportunities in different sectors to investors from Qatar.

Addressing a press conference in Doha yesterday, the Mayor of London, who is leading a business delegation to various Gulf states including Qatar to attract investments from the region, said: “The most important thing about this trip is to see how much it is a two-way process.  The UK is one of the biggest exporters to Qatar. We are aiming for forming a partnership in many areas such as academic ventures in higher education, cultural projects, media projects and many more. It is also very encouraging to see what British businesses are doing in Qatar.”

Johnson said that the UK exported goods worth £1.3bn to Qatar annually. “We are here for a real alliance building with Qatar. There is a lot of momentum behind the relationship and things are moving very fast in the country. There are many ways in which we can do things together for our mutual advantage.”

He added that London had a very successful Olympics and there were many areas of expertise that London could share with Qatar in connection with 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar.

The London Mayor also said that the total investment by Qatar in the UK amounted to £20bn. “Shell alone has invested around $20bn in Qatar. Moreover, it is not just about structures and housing alone that we are looking forward to. We are also exploring  opportunities in many other areas. London will be the biggest producer of media content in the next ten years.”

Answering a question, Johnson said that there were possibilities for more UK universities being established in Qatar. “I would like to see more Qatari students in London. I would like to see more UK higher education institutes expanding into Qatar. Recently vice chancellors of 12 universities from the UK were in Qatar. I think that the  whole idea of educational co-operation is a very fertile one.”

 

 

 

BELOW: Boris Johnson addressing the gathering as  Ambassador Michael O’Neill and HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari look on.

Related Story