Amir's visit to Spain to boost bilateral cooperation: Madrid Mayor

Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said Qatari investments in his country and said that the State of Qatar is a major investor in Spain and is among the top 25 investors in his country

The Mayor of Madrid Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida described the visit of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to the Kingdom of Spain to be an important opportunity to enhance cooperation and cultural and economic ties between Qatar and Spain. In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Mayor Almeida said it was a great honor that the capital of the Kingdom of Spain will be the city that welcomes His Highness the Amir. "The state visit of His Highness the Amir is an appropriate occasion to explore new horizons of cooperation between the two countries, especially in terms of increasing Qatari investments in Spain and discussing other issues related to bilateral relations, including the search for opportunities to twin cities between Madrid and Doha, where there is work on this aspect and a common interest from the two cities on the progress of this matter", Almeida said. "His Highness' visit is also a great opportunity to introduce Madrid as an attractive and important city for investment and to discuss opportunities to enhance cooperation in the field of tourism between the two sides, especially since Madrid is one of the main destinations in Spain, especially in the field of shopping tourism. It also possesses a large cultural hub and other tourism services interesting to tourists, especially ones from Qatar," he added. The Mayor praised Qatari investments in his country and said that the State of Qatar is a major investor in Spain and is among the top 25 investors in his country, as it is the main destination for these investments, through direct ownership stakes in many large and important Spanish companies. He expressed his confidence that His Highness the Amir's visit to Spain will contribute to improving investment channels through foreign commerce departments at the ministry of industry, as well as working to push Spanish investments in the State of Qatar, which are still very low, but there are investors in Madrid interested in investing in Qatar. Regarding Qatar's hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the Mayor said that Qatar's hosting of the event constitutes a great opportunity to further open up Qatar to the world, get to know its culture closely, and learn better about the progress that has been made. He said he expects that the World Cup in Qatar would be unique because of the dates and the amazing facilities equipped. He expressed his wishes that the final match of the World Cup will bring together the teams of Qatar and Spain.