His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attended Tuesday the official dinner banquet hosted by President of the friendly French Republic Emmanuel Macron, in honour of the Amir and the accompanying delegation at the Elysee Palace.
At the beginning of the banquet, the French president delivered a speech in which he welcomed His Highness the Amir and the accompanying delegation, expressing the French Republic's welcome and honour for this visit, and his great personal happiness with it.
Macron also praised bilateral relations' achievements over the past years, reiterating his thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Amir for the diplomatic efforts of Qatar, regionally and internationally.
In a speech to mark the occasion, His Highness the Amir expressed his deep appreciation to the French president for the warm reception, stressing his keenness to continue joint work to consolidate bilateral relations at all levels, for the good and interest of the two friendly peoples.
His Highness the Amir also stressed what was agreed upon during the official discussions to increase Qatar's investments in France to 10bn Euros in the coming years, which will be directed to strengthening strategic economic partnerships between the two countries. During the speech, His Highness the Amir praised the city of Paris's preparations to host the 2024 Paris Olympics next summer. He expressed Qatar's aspiration to co-operate in the success of organising this global sporting event.
During the official dinner banquet, His Highness the Amir was awarded the Legion of Honor with the rank of "Chevalier" by the French president in appreciation of the efforts of the Amir in strengthening friendly relations between the two countries.
For his part, His Highness the Amir granted President Macron the Sword of the Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, as an embodiment of his role in supporting and developing relations between the two countries.
The official dinner banquet was attended by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, and a number of members of the official delegation accompanying the Amir, businessmen and senior officials.
On the French side, it was attended by a number of ministers, members of the Senate and the National Assembly, businessmen and senior officials.