Qatar and the UK enjoy distinguished and deeply-rooted friendly relations that have contributed to the well-being of both countries on different levels, HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said Sunday.

Addressing a joint press conference with the visiting UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy held in Doha on Sunday evening, HE Sheikh Mohamed explained that the second Qatar- UK Strategic Dialogue was held and a letter of intent in the field of peace and reconciliation was signed.

He stressed that the visit of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to the UK last December has further cemented the excellent Qatar –UK in all fields, resulting in extensive exchange of visits on high level. This made the two countries partners towards a better future.

The historic visit supported partnership and mutual cooperation in different key fields such as defence, security, fighting terrorism, transportation and communication, trade and investment and others. Joint working groups have been launched in the fields of modern science and technology, encouraging innovation, health care, and the use of artificial intelligence application in supporting the health sector.

There is a flourishing and growing investment and trade partnership between the two countries with Qatari investments in the UK amounting to more than £40bn, which have created many job opportunities in the UK while these have been profitable for the Qatari economy.

The two countries maintained a trade volume exceeding £1.6bn in 2024. Qatar has been playing a pivotal role as a pioneer as partner with major companies and investment in the UK, especially in the fields of science and technology, and the future looks brighter for such strategic cooperation.

HE Sheikh Mohamed noted there are a growing number of Qatari students who study in the UK in addition to the Qataris who visit UK regularly. Similarly, many UK citizens work and live in Qatar and have been active in key fields of cooperation such as sports, innovation, science and genomic science.

The joint Qatar-UK development humanitarian fund amounted to $100mn with various related projects and aid for the Gaza Strip, Somalia, Yemen, Bangladesh and other distress zones.

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said that work is going on tireless and non-stop to attain stability and peace across various areas of conflict through diplomacy, mediation and talks. Such efforts cover Syria, Sudan, Ukraine, and others as Qatar have enjoyed various successful experiences in this. He also expressed Qatar's support for the peaceful talk efforts between Iran and the US, and Ukraine and Russia to make peace prevail.

The UK Foreign Secretary highly appreciated the fast growing Qatari-UK relations on all levels, which reflected positively on the people to people relations. He said that more UK citizens come to Qatar especially after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the number of Qataris visiting the UK is steadily growing, especially in the summer.

The relations between the two countries have gone from being very strong to stronger. He also stressed that he highly valued the efforts of Qatar to establish world peace and stability even as the active cooperation of the two countries benefit the whole world as well. The growing Qatari investments in the UK have created many opportunities and contributed to the well-being of both parties.

Both Lammy and HE Sheikh Mohamed expressed their strong desire to immediately stop the suffering of the people in Gaza and send them speedy and unconditional relief aid as both Qatar and the UK will continue to work together for peace.
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British ambassador to Qatar Neerav Patel told Gulf Times in a statement Sunday: “Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s visit to Doha for the Qatar-UK Strategic Dialogue with HE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was an important step forward in cooperation, building on the historic state visit to the UK by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Every area of our partnership that is not advancing, to promote our mutual growth and prosperity. The sky is the limit.”