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Three members of the French Senate are visiting Qatar to enhance bilateral relations in all fields of mutual interest.
“We came here from Kuwait and it is a tour aimed at deepening the already excellent relationships between the two countries. We have met HE the Prime Minister of Qatar and it was a very warm and fruitful meeting. We have also met HE the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and HE the Minister of Culture,” said Philippe Marini, one of the French senators and president of the finance commission at the Senate, yesterday.
Marini is also head of the GCC-France friendship committee.
The other two visiting senators who spoke to the local media yesterday at the residence of French ambassador Jean-Christophe Peaucelle were Alain Houpert, senator of Cote-d’Or, and Bariza Khiari, French Senate vice-president. The Freanch ambassador also attended the meeting.
Houpert praised the “amazing modern architecture” he saw around Doha, indicating the clear advancement of the country. Further, he said he had seen great engineering and architectural development in Doha, which was “remarkable and praiseworthy”.
“In Kuwait, we mainly focused on financial and economic relations and we would consider some of the issues they spoke to us about. We are also aware of Kuwait’s efforts to get back some Arab ambassadors to Doha and the process is going (on) well. France wishes that things heal as quickly as possible. The Kuwaitis presented their project in this respect and we consider it as fruitful,” said Marini.
He stressed that Qatar has been playing a major role regionally and internationally to enhance peace and friendship. “We are happy with the achievements of Qatar in this respect, for instance in the reconciliation of Palestinian factions,” he added.
On negative reports in the French media against Qatar, he said: “We have a free and independent media and they do not represent the official opinion or views of France. Some of them do not know even what is happening here and report out of nothing. Some also aim to escalate issues and promote hatred, which is not the way of France. But it is a free media.”
Houpert explained that some people envy Qatar and Qataris rather than empathise with them. “People here are proud of their culture and origin, generous and have a very positive and open attitude towards others,” he said.
The visiting French senators aim to widen the scope of co-operation between the two countries in various fields, including education (there are two very successful French schools in Doha), business and trade, and cultural exchange, and strengthen diplomatic relations with a focus on security.
“We also want to encourage more Qatari businessmen to invest in French companies. We are generally interested in the region and are now witnessing the speedy and remarkable development of Qatar in all fields,” said Marini.
The senators were scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia. However, according to them, their entry visa had been delayed due to some “administrative issues”.
“The good thing about it is that we will spend an extra day here in Doha, which is a very friendly and generous place,” agreed the group.
