|
|
Qatar has managed to strike balance between an oil-based and a knowledge-based economy, the Ambassador of Japan to Qatar Shingo Tsuda has said.
Praising the strong relations between Qatar and Japan, the Japanese ambassador stressed that there are ample opportunities to enhance relations between the two countries, and added that “Japan is the largest trading partner of Qatar.”
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion of Qatar National Day, Tsuda extended his sincere congratulations to HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the government and the people of Qatar on this occasion.
He said the occasion has evolved over the years to turn from a mere commemoration of the past to an embracement of a wider concept of celebrating the future.
The State of Qatar, under the wise leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, was able to play an important role in countless areas, foremost of them the human resources development initiatives aimed at empowering the Qatari people to contribute to a successful society.
As a promising country in the region, Qatar has taken great strides in the right direction to achieve the goals set by the Qatar National Vision 2030 while maintaining its cultural heritage and identity, he said.
The ambassador pointed out that there are other impressive aspects about the State of Qatar, including its ability to maintain a balance between an economy dependent on oil and natural gas to a knowledge-based economy in order to help diversify the country’s economy and ensure a stable and sustainable business environment.
He noted that Qatar and Japan will work in the future on an ongoing and relentless basis towards promoting and enhancing bilateral relations and diversifying areas of joint cooperation to boost the excellent existing energy and trade relations.
Japan is the largest trading partner of Qatar, Tsuda said, noting that the total trade volume between the two countries reached $38bn in 2013.
As a major provider of energy to Japan, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas supplied 18% of Japan’s LNG imports (16mn tonnes), he said.
On human resource development, Japan has hosted many Qatari technical and administrative staff as part of the training programmes set up by a number of Japanese companies to prepare and promote a qualified generation of young people to help developing the national industrial programs enabling them to have the capacities to take responsibility in the future, Tsuda explained.
He believed that “there is another great opportunity to strengthen the bonds of co-operation between the two countries at the international level, namely through the Tokyo’s 2020 Summer Olympics and Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, expressing hope that these two major events would represent another factor to promote a close co-operation between both countries and boost the exchange of knowledge and expertise in order to ensure their success in their capacity as host countries.”
Tsuda concluded that the State of Qatar and Japan continue to prosper as good partners in the trade and business sectors, noting that the scope of relations of cooperation between the two countries has expanded in recent years to include the education, culture, sports, and technology fields. Mutual respect and support are the main key to the strong relationships, he said, praising Qatar Friendship Fund, which supports Japan’s reconstruction efforts in many ways.
