Guests at the birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II at the British embassy yesterday.
British Ambassador Michael O’Neill yesterday evening joined more than a thousand guests of the British embassy to celebrate the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.
Among the guests of honour were HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
Members of the British and Qatari communities, the diplomatic corps and international media, business and government leaders, teachers from the 11 British schools in Qatar, and British embassy and British Council staff attended the event which also celebrated partnership between the UK and Qatar.
In his speech at the reception, Ambassador O’Neill said: “It is a great pleasure to welcome you all tonight to celebrate HM the Queen’s Birthday. I would particularly like to thank HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, for joining us this evening. I would also like to thank our Platinum Sponsors Shell and Coutts, and our Gold Sponsors W S Atkins and PWC, for their support.”
“This has been a rich year for Qatar-UK relations and an exciting time for the United Kingdom. We had a record number of high-level visits in both directions,” he added.
“We are also pleased to see bilateral ties going from strength to strength in foreign policy, trade and investment, defence and security, and education, building on existing links between our two countries in broader areas of Qatar’s National Vision 2030. As we celebrate the Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture we look to broaden and deepen further our existing relations.”
Boris Johnson said: “I am delighted to be able to mark the Queen’s Birthday here at the British embassy in Doha. While London looks back on what was a fantastic summer of sport during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Qatar looks forward to what I’m sure will be a hugely successful World Cup in 2022. Today’s festivities give us a perfect opportunity to share our experiences, hopes and expectations and to celebrate the growing ties between our two great cities.”