French Ambassador to Qatar H E Jean-Baptiste Faivre
Qatar as a strategic partner of France has seen significant strengthening of relationship in a range of areas, said French Ambassador to Qatar H E Jean-Baptiste Faivre, emphasising that the ties would further expand in future.
Over a year, the strong ties between Qatar and France in areas such as politics, trade, investment, defence, security, education and several others have further expanded, Faivre said while speaking to media persons ahead of the National Day of France, which is marked on July 14.
“It is an honour for me to head the French Embassy in Qatar, because Qatar is a strategic partner of France, a friendly country, and a power that counts at the regional and international levels,” said Faivre, who is serving as the Ambassador since September 2021.
“The relationship between France and Qatar is excellent again, but we are determined to take it to new heights,” said Faivre.
He said that in a COVID-19 controlled environment several meetings were held between Qatari and French heads of state, ministers and other officials and last year has been very different with a new and very positive impetus given to the relationship.
“The political relationship is again very close and is developing in a spirit of mutual trust,” said Faivre.
He also emphasised that Qatar and France have a very active cooperation on diplomatic issues such as Libya, Syria, Iran, Chad, Afghanistan, Palestine and aggression on Ukraine by Russia.
“France and Qatar are strongly committed to peace. We share the will to resolve regional issues through peaceful means and dialogue and not through confrontation,” said Faivre.
“One of my key priorities was to reengage with Qatar on these issues. And that’s what we did a lot,” he added.
According to Faivre as France has a long tradition of military cooperation with Qatar and remains committed to supporting Qatar’s defense as well as regional security, the “relationship is again denser in the field of defence.”
“France remains a partner also of Qatar for its top level military equipment, including in particular the Rafale fighter aircraft (36) which provides Qatar with a unique defence capability in the Gulf,” he added.
Qatar and France also share a very close cooperation in the field of internal security.
“We are working on current and developing threats such as cyber threats, fight against terrorism or organised crime, to name a few,” said Faivre. He emphasised that France will stand by Qatar to contribute to the success of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. “On a sporting level in terms of security, we have always done for major events, since the 2006 Asian Games. During 2022 FIFA World Cup the French police, gendarmerie and army will provide their support,” said Faivre.
“We have got a lot to learn from Qatar’s experience to make our own upcoming competitions (Rugby World Cup in 2023 and Olympic games in 2024) a success,” he added.
Faivre lauded the reforms made by Qatar to the labour law and said, “We have signed a tripartite cooperation agreement between France, Qatar and the ILO.”
“In terms of commercial exchange, the bilateral relation between Qatar and France is excellent,” said Faivre, adding that both countries are dedicated to reaching new heights. The trade volume between both countries in 2021 amounted to €1.6bn.
“Qatar is a key trading partner for France in a wide range of areas, from energy to transportation, as well as logistics, luxury or food. I do hope our trade exchanges will expand in the coming years, as a result of the global economic recovery. Alongside the trade relationship, we have numerous areas of cooperation: food security, maritime transportation, sustainable development, circular economy and waste management, and energy, and plan to bolster mutual investments,” said Faivre.
“In the field of energy in particular, we have launched a substantial and confident dialogue on this topic and Europe’s energy security,” he added.
“The cooperation in culture and education is expanding and new projects are on the pipeline,” said Faivre.
“On education, two new joint degrees were put in place: one between Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne and Lusail University, and the other between Bretagne Sud University and Qatar University in the field of cybersecurity,” said Faivre.
“We are also establishing long lasting partnerships with Qatar Museum. Teams of French experts are involved in projects such as the Orientalist Museum, by 2027, and the Art Mill Museum planned for 2028. We have a cooperation between Sports Museums (or 3 2 1 Museum) and the National Sports Museum in Nice. We should sign an agreement soon,” he added.
