His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev toured on Monday evening a number of museums and historical sites in the city of Samarkand.During the tour, His Highness and the Uzbek President listened to an explanation about the history of the Observatory of Ulugbek and its role in the development of astronomical sciences among Muslims.During their visit to the Afrasiyab Museum, they were briefed on the most prominent archaeological holdings and artifacts, which document the most important historical highlights of the city of Samarkand, and the various archaeological areas of Uzbekistan.Also, His Highness the Amir and President Mirziyoyev visited Registan Square and listened to a briefing on the history of civilisation and Islamic and experimental sciences in and around Samarkand, and concluded their tour with a visit to the Eternal City, where they were briefed on the most prominent customs and heritage traditions that the Uzbek people adhere to since ancient times.During the tour, His Highness the Amir was accompanied by a number of Their Excellencies members of the accompanying official delegation.

The Ministry of Finance Monday announced that Qatar's budget recorded a surplus of QR19.7bn for the first quarter of 2023. In its briefing on the actual data of Qatar's budget in Q1 of 2023, the ministry said the total revenues for this quarter amounted to QR68.6bn, of which QR63.4bn were oil and gas revenues, while non-oil revenues amounted to QR5.2bn. The total expenditures in the same quarter of 2023 amounted to QR48.9bn, of which QR15.6bn was spent on salaries and wages and QR17.3bn on current expenses, while secondary capital expenditures amounted to QR1bn and major capital expenditures amounted to QR15.1bn, the statement added. Through its data, the Ministry of Finance explained that the actual average oil price during the aforementioned quarter amounted to $82.2 per barrel, which is higher than the estimated price in Qatar's budget for the year 2023 that amounts to $65 per barrel. The ministry's estimated data for the State's general budget for the year 2023 estimated the surplus at QR29bn for the entire 2023, which means that about 68% of this amount has already been achieved during the first quarter of 2023 alone. Upon issuing Qatar's budget for the fiscal year 2023, HE the Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari said the surplus will be directed to paying off the public debt, supporting the reserves of Qatar Central Bank, and increasing the capital of the Qatar Investment Authority. He pointed out that an average oil price of $65 per barrel, on the basis of which the general budget for the year 2023 was built, is a conservative price adopted by the Ministry of Finance as part of its strategy to ensure the ability to allocate financial resources for existing commitments expected during the year, as well as to finance programmes and projects of the national development strategy.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived Monday evening in the city of Samarkand on a state visit to the friendly Republic of Uzbekistan, as part of a tour of a number of Central Asian countries including the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Tajikistan.His Highness the Amir was welcomed at Samarkand International Airport by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.The Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bakhtiyor Saidov, HE the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Uzbekistan Hassan bin Hamza Hashim, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Qatar Bahromjon Aloev, and members of the Qatari embassy were also present.His Highness the Amir is accompanied by an official delegation.