The Ambassador of France to Qatar, Franck Gellet (pictured) said that the relations between France and Qatar are strong and based on mutual trust and common understanding.
Speaking to reporters on the occasion of Qatar National Day which falls on December 18, the Ambassador said: “We congratulate Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the people and government of Qatar on the occasion of the Qatar National Day.”
“The bilateral relations can be described as an ‘exceptional partnership’ rooted in deep friendship. France has always been supportive of Qatar in the hard times. Special moment for the Qatari people and residents of Qatar, including the 5,500 French citizens, who highly appreciate the hospitality they receive in Qatar and to contribute to the high standards in every field,” he said.
On bilateral economic ties, Gellet said: “Our bilateral trade has steadily exceeded Euro 2bn per year since 2014. In 2018, it increased by 33 percent to Euro 3.5bn, a historic high. This historical level will most certainly be exceeded in 2019 since, over the first 10 months of 2019, our trade has increased by 13 percent. We wish that this positive commercial trend will continue in 2020.”
He said that around 120 French companies, mainly major groups leaders in their fields, are present in Qatar, in a wide range of sectors such as oil and gas, aeronautics, defence, security, infrastructure, construction, engineering, urban development, transport, environment, information technology, hospitality and mass retailing.
“The excellent level of our bilateral cooperation has been showcased at an international level: President Macron and H H the Amir co-chaired the Climate Finance Initiative at the last United Nations General Assembly during which H H the Amir announced a $100m contribution to the Green Climate Fund,” said the Ambassador.
“Qatar also pledged $50 million, five times the amount of its previous contribution, to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria at the 6th replenishment conference of the Fund held in October in Lyon, France,” he said adding that this cooperation is a sign of a shared vision of multilateralism that must be strengthened to address global issues.
On the Information and Security Systems, he said that Thales (a French company) has been implementing a security system all over Doha Port, as the company previously did for Hamad International Airport. Also Cegelec has been carrying out the modernization of Kahramaa’s communication and data transmission facilities, and Atos company has signed a contract with Ooredoo to provide cybersecurity services to clients in Qatar.
Regarding the military cooperation, the Ambassador said that a year 2019 was milestone in the field of military cooperation. “It witnessed the signature of the SoFA (Status of Forces Agreement) during the visit of the French minister for the Armed Forces. Defence cooperation is strong and I am convinced that it will get stronger during the coming years,” he added.
On the cultural field , the Ambassador said that next year (2020) will be the Qatar-France Year of Culture. The Ambassador also praised the Qatar’s steps in the field of workers’ rights.
