HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Qassim al-Thani stressed the importance of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's state visit to the Kingdom of Spain.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Sheikh Mohamed praised the development of bilateral relations between Qatar Spain in recent years, especially on the economic level, pointing out that the volume of trade between the two countries reached $1.2bn in 2021, achieving a growth of about 44.3%, compared to 2020.
He explained that there are about 209 Spanish companies in Qatar working in a number of vital economic fields, and have made important contributions to infrastructure projects associated with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
He also stressed the State's keenness to improve the Qatari-Spanish co-operation frameworks in all areas of development, in order to serve the agendas and visions of the future of the two friendly countries, in light of the common aspirations to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides.
The statistics show how distinguished the Qatari-Spanish relations are, and the desire of Doha and Madrid to strengthen and develop these relations in the future in various fields, HE Sheikh Mohamed said.
He also stressed the frequency of meetings between senior officials of the two countries with shared common visions on a range of issues, whether bilateral or regional and international.
The two countries are working to exploit the investment opportunities available to both parties, especially in light of the successes of Qatari and Spanish investments that have been reflected in their economies.
Today, Qatar occupies an advanced position among the Arab countries investing in Spain, with investments amounting to more than €21bn, and the Qatar Investment Authority is the second largest shareholder of the Spanish Stock Exchange.
The data indicate that Qatar has strong shares in strategic sectors such as aviation, with Qatar Airways owning up to 25.1% of International Airlines Group (IAG)'s rights, while its shares in Colonial, which works in the field of construction, account for 13%, and about 12.2% in Corte Ingles company operating in the field of distribution and services, and 6% in Brezza, an telecommunications company, and about 8.6% in Iberdrola, one of the world's leading multinational groups in the energy sector, in addition to an investment portfolio of approximately €2.6bn on the stock exchange.
Qatar is one of the main suppliers of natural gas to Spain, as it is the second largest gas supplier, and provides up to 12% of the total Spanish imports of this clean energy.
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