Armenian President Armen Sarkissian began on Sunday an official visit to Qatar.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will receive President Sarkissian on Tuesday at the Amiri Diwan to discuss bilateral relations, ways to develop and strengthen them as well as issues of common concern.
The visit is expected to contribute to strengthening the relations between the two countries, especially in the economic, trade and investment fields.
Relations between Qatar and Armenia have been growing in many sectors since their establishment on November 5, 1997.
These relations have been strengthened over the years through official visits by senior officials from both sides, notably the visits of former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan to Doha in 2002 and former Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan in 2009 and 2017, during which official talks focused on bilateral relations as well as major regional and international issues.
In the framework of keenness to support and develop bilateral relations in various fields, the two countries are bound by a set of agreements and memorandums of understanding.
President Sarkissian has praised his country's strong relations with Qatar, stressing his aspiration to strengthen them especially in the commercial and economic fields, calling on Qatari businessmen to study the investment opportunities available in Armenia.
Qatar participated in the Armenian Summit of Minds held in Dilijan, Armenia, in June 2019 along with representatives of 27 countries and more than 100 prominent figures from Armenia and abroad.
The discussions focused on geopolitical processes in Eurasia and the Middle East, advanced technologies, management, artificial intelligence and digital economy, entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership in the 21st century, dialogue of civilisations and currency policies.
Mohamed bin Ahmed al-Obaidly, a member of the Board of Directors of Qatar Chamber, who took part in the summit, said in a press statement that his meeting with the Armenian president discussed ways to enhance co-operation in business sectors, pointing out that a delegation of Qatari businessmen will visit Armenia next year to participate in this annual conference in addition to exploring investment opportunities in Armenia.
Qatar Airways operates four direct flights between Doha and Yerevan.
The flights, in addition to the facilities offered by the Armenian government such as visa exemption for Qatari citizens, have contributed to increased tourist arrivals from Qatar to the Armenian capital.
Located on the Harastan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural and industrial centre of Armenia.
Armenia is a landlocked mountainous country located in the South Caucasus, connecting Western Asia and Eastern Europe, and bordering Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey.
With a total area of more than 29,000sq m Armenia is home to about 3mn people.
Armenia is one of the most advanced countries in the former Soviet Union in the field of technology industry, which is one of the pillars of the economy, that mainly depends on the investment sector, which is witnessing a great development in various fields.
The country also offers viable investment opportunities that businessmen can seize.
In the pre-independence phase, the economy depended to a large extent on the manufacturing of chemicals, electronics, machinery, food processing, textiles,and synthetic rubber.
In the period of independence, Armenia developed a modern industrial sector based on exporting machinery, textiles and other manufactured goods.
Agriculture accounted for less than 20% of the GDP.
After independence, the importance of agriculture in the economy emerged significantly, increasing its share in the late 1990s to more than 30% of GDP and more than 45% of total employment.
Armenian mines produce copper, zinc, gold and lead, while the vast majority of energy is produced from fuel imported from Russia, including gas and nuclear fuel for its only nuclear power plant.
The main source of domestic energy is hydropower.
Armenia believes in the importance of education and has achieved significant results in this field, which have added great value to its economy.
On another hand, Armenia has succeeded in exporting its products to foreign markets, working to ensure that the economy remains strong and creates favorable conditions for foreign investment.
It focuses on supporting the engineering, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, and has established two free trade zones where investors enjoy a range of incentives and exemptions.
