HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani with German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel in Berlin yesterday.
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani meeting with German President Joachim Gauck at Bellevue Palace in Berlin.
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday described his talks with German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel in Berlin as “frank” and “fruitful”.
During a working lunch, the two sides discussed “prospects for further development of mutual co-operation”, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) said. They also “discussed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them in addition to a number of regional and international issues”, QNA said.
Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting with the Emir, Merkel also described the talks as “fruitful and constructive”.
She welcomed the convening of the Qatari-German Economic Forum.
Merkel said the talks dealt with Qatar’s preparations for hosting the World Cup 2022 and hoped that the state would create favourable conditions for workers in projects related to the tournament.
She explained that HH the Emir had assured her that these issues had been taken care of and taken seriously.
Merkel said that the two sides discussed the security situation and developments in the region and viewpoints on them. She said that they also discussed the Islamic State (IS) group, confirming that the two countries had identical viewpoints in this regard.
Merkel expressed her happiness over Qatar joining the international coalition against terrorism.
She added that the talks covered the peace process in the Middle East, pointing out that there was a difference on this matter. But that the two sides, she said, agreed on the need for a two-state solution and were committed to find lasting peace rather than a truce agreement.
She said the developments in a number of countries of the Arab Spring were also discussed, referring to the situation in Libya, which she described as “complicated”, expressing the hope that the developments there would not affect Tunisia “but rather that stability in Tunisia and the positive developments there would stabilise the situation in Libya”.
For his part, the Emir thanked the German chancellor for the warm reception, praising as fruitful the talks between the two sides, which dealt with the relations between the two countries, especially in economic and investment areas.
The Emir described that talks as “frank”, adding that they did not see any reservation and they came out with positive results.
He said the two sides discussed the difficult and complicated situation in Syria, Iraq and Libya as well as the “bright spot in the region which is Tunisia”. “Germany supports the Tunisian experience, Qatar supports this experience as well,” the Emir said.
The Emir noted that the risk of extremism in the region was discussed, stressing that Qatar had warned against it (extremism) since the beginning of the Syrian revolution. He said the longer the conflict continued in Syria, the violence would also continue and would generate extremist groups that could not be controlled.
He expressed his regret over the suffering of the Syrian people from the regime’s tyranny and extremism.
The Emir pointed out that in addition to the fight against extremism, the rights of people who were struggling for dignity and their full rights must also be ensured.
With regard to the issue concerning the conditions of workers in Qatar, the Emir said that mistakes had been occurred in the past and that Qatar was not perfect in all things. “But the good news is that Qatar has made significant changes to maintain the rights of workers and to provide favourable conditions for them,” the Emir said, stressing his personal keenness on this issue .
On the differences of opinion on the Middle East peace process, HH the Emir explained that there was an agreement on establishing peace based on a two-state solution. He added that the two parties agreed to hold more talks on the matter in future.
Merkel described Qatar as an “important investor” in Germany. She added that there was an increasing level of co-ordination in economy, investment and energy.
Merkel stressed that “we’re happy about every Qatari investment” and said Germany could help especially in infrastructure and environmental technology and renewable energy for the post-fossil fuel age
On allegations that the State of Qatar was financing extremists groups, the Emir stressed that Qatar did not and would not support any such groups in Syria and Iraq.
“What is happening in Iraq and Syria is extremism, and those groupings are being partially funded from abroad, but Qatar has never and will never support terrorist organisations.”
HH the Emir is on a three-day official visit to Germany.
