Qatar’s consulate in Milan was opened Friday by HE the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed bin Hassan al-Hammadi in the presence of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs second bureau director Paolo Sordini.
Speaking on the occasion, HE Dr al-Hammadi pointed out that the opening of the consulate in Milan is a new indicator of the strength of the Qatari-Italian relations.
He explained that Qatar’s consulate in Milan is aimed at achieving the main objectives that serve the interests of the two countries and the two friendly peoples, in particular the interests related to the growing economic, trade and investment relations in addition to facilitate legal and administrative procedures and transactions at the public and private levels.
HE Dr al-Hammadi stated that the economic and trade relations include large investments from the public and private sectors in both countries, as the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached 15bn euros in 2018, an increase of 11% from the previous year.
The growth is expected to continue this year by around 3% or more, the senior Qatari official said while pointing out that this extensive economic activity, which is of utmost importance to both countries because it contributes to increase their GDP, is an important reason for the opening of Qatar’s consulate in Milan.
HE Dr al-Hammadi noted the importance of extending the role of the consulate to include cultural, educational, sports and other relations. He thanked Italy's Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in particular for their sincere cooperation and facilities for the opening of Qatar’s consulate in Milan.
Sordini said that the decision of Qatar to establish a consulate in Milan is a strong and tangible signal of the country’s interest in Italy and the development of bilateral relations. He pointed out that these strong relations are based on mutual trust and convergence of diverse interests from regional stability to economic and trade relations and cultural relations.
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