The Ambassador of Argentina to Qatar, Carlos Hernandez, addressing a press meet yesterday. Pic: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
DOHA: Aiming to further strengthen bilateral relations, Qatar and Argentina will soon sign 10 agreements. The agreements will cover several sectors such as civil aviation, maritime trade, health, education, environment, and technical cooperation, said Argentina’s ambassador to Qatar, Carlos Hernandez, yesterday.
“The agreements are almost final. We expect to sign or finalise all of them before the end of the year,” Hernandez told The Peninsula, speaking on the sidelines of the press conference held yesterday at Katara.
The announcement follows the successful visit of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Argentina in the first week of this month. Several bilateral agreements in different areas, including on-arrival visa facilitation for Qatari nationals, were signed between the two countries. The ambassador said that Argentina’s energy minister will be visiting Qatar next month.
“We are going to have, most probably, the visit of our energy minister to Qatar in either in the beginning or middle of November,” he said.
Giving details about the Memoranda of Understanding, the ambassador said that there will be a MoU for Ports Cooperation between Qatar Ports Management Company ‘Mwani Qatar’ and Argentinian Under-Secretariat of Ports, Waterways and Merchant Marine.
The second MoU will be for Cooperation on Air Transportation between the Civil Aviation Authority of Qatar and the Civil Aviation Authority in Argentina.
“Both countries are interested to double the number of flights. There are serious possibilities of a direct flight from Doha to Buenos Aires,” said Hernandez.
There will be a MoU for Youth Cooperation and for Academic Cooperation between Qatar University and Buenos Aires University. An agreement will also be signed for cooperation between Strategic Studies Centers of Qatar and Argentina; and for cooperation between the Qatar National Library and Dr. Mariano Moreno National Library of Argentina.
There will be a MoU for Health Cooperation and for cooperation in the field of protection of the environment, and waste management. A Letter of Intent is expected to sign between the Doha Municipality at the State of Qatar and the Government of the City of Buenos Aires of Argentina. An agreement will also be signed for technical cooperation.
Argentina is also be trying to sign an agreement regarding labour related issues. “We are trying to get another agreement on labour issues as well, so that Argentine people can come and establish here with their family and be able to work. Qatar has this sort of agreements with other countries and we will pursue that as well,” said Hernandez.
The Qatari-Argentine Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation is expected to hold its meeting in the first half of December. “The meeting will discuss the execution of the agreements signed in the past plus new ideas,” he added.
