His Highness The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and HE President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in held a session of official talks on Monday morning at the Presidential Palace (the Blue House) in the capital Seoul.
At the outset, HE the Korean President welcomed HH The Amir and expressed his pleasure to meet His Highness and the accompanying delegation, looking forward to the positive outcomes of the visit, especially as it coincides with the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. HE the President also expressed hope to develop and promote these relations at the international level.
In his statement at the beginning of the talks, HE the Korean President extended his congratulations to HH The Amir on the victory of the Qatari national team over the Korean team in the Asian Cup, wishing the Qatari team success at the Qatar World Cup 2022.
In this regard, HE the Korean President noted his country's experience in the organisation of international sports events, referring to its success in organizing the 2002 World Cup and the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. He also voiced Korea's willingness to provide help and share its experience with Qatar in organizing the 2022 World Cup.
HE the President expressed his pleasure at the development of friendly relations and cooperation in various fields, pointing out that Qatar's friendship is important to Korea and that there is a comprehensive partnership between the two countries, referring to the Korean-Qatari partnership in the field of energy and economy and looking forward to developing it to wider horizons, especially with the promising potential of the two countries in all fields.
For his part, HH The Amir thanked HE the President for the warm welcome and hospitality and said that this is His Highness's fourth official visit to Korea, affirming what HE the Korean President said that the relations between the two countries are strong and historical. HH The Amir also expressed hope to develop these relations, especially with the growing favorable opportunities between the two countries.
HH The Amir expressed his pleasure in hosting the 2022 World Cup Qatar as the first Arab country to host this great event, noting Korea's experience in organizing major sports events such as Seoul Olympic Games, 2002 Busan Asian Games, 2002 World Cup and the Olympic Winter Games last year.
HH The Amir also expressed hope to benefit from South Korea's experiences in preparing for the 2022 World Cup, especially as Qatar and Korea have already co-organized the 2006 Asian Games 2006 in Qatar.
HH The Amir said that Qatar's preparations for hosting the 2022 World Cup and the infrastructure projects are proceeding in an excellent way, expressing his full satisfaction with the progress made in this regard.
HH The Amir hailed the promising Qatari national football team, which is preparing for the 2022 championship, where it achieved a very excellent result in the current Asian Cup, wishing it success in the semi-final match, and expressing satisfaction at its performance.
During the meeting, they discussed means to enhance cooperation and friendly relations between the two countries in various fields, especially in energy, economy, investment, health, agriculture, education and technology, as well as cooperation in the military field. The talks also dealt with the regional and international issues.
In this context, HE the Korean President thanked HH The Amir for the State of Qatar's support of the inter-Korean peace process and for its stance in resolving the Gulf dispute through dialogue.
For his part, HH The Amir noted that the direct dialogue, especially between the two Koreas, is the best way to resolve all disputes.
The meeting was attended by Their Excellencies members of the official delegation accompanying HH The Amir.
On the Korean side, it was attended by a number of Their Excellencies the ministers.