Qatar has achieved a lot in various sectors domestically and internationally as the country aims to diversify its economy, said Alex Bodry, Luxembourg’s head of delegation to the ongoing 140th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly has said.
“It is amazing what this country has achieved during the last decade. We knew Qatar in Luxembourg because it is also involved in our economy,” he told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the event at Sheraton Doha.
Bodry, who was first elected to public office 35 years ago, noted that Qatar is one of the main shareholders of one of the most important banks in Luxembourg. Qatar, to some extent, has similarities with Luxembourg such as having a high income per capita (Qatar ranked number one and Luxembourg number three), he noted.
Bodry also lauded the newly-opened National Museum of Qatar – housed in what he described as “an extraordinary building” – and having impressive contents. “It’s a modern deductive museum,” Bodry stressed, who also visited Souq Waqif. “It is my first participation in a conference of IPU taking place in the Middle East, in the Arab world, so it is a good experience to discover the place,” he added.
About the conference, Bodry said it tackled pressing and interesting issues such as peace, security and rule of law in the ‘General Debate’, as well as human rights, freedom of expression and the right to information, and ‘social media to enhance citizen engagement and democracy, among others.
“The 140th IPU agenda is an agenda of consensus, we had discussions on the urgent items, we have different interests, and different priorities but we managed it generally to have all the major items,” he said.
Bodry said he finds topics on sustainability and climate change of huge interest, having been a Minister in various departments, including Environment, and significantly contributed to the passage of Luxembourg’s environmental law.
A panel discussion on the Sustainable Development Goals in preparation for the 2019 session of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is scheduled to take place today morning at the conference.

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