HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the Arab League Ambassador Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al Sahlawi chaired the Arab side in the 17th session of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), which kicked off Tuesday via videoconferencing, at the level of ranking officials, while the Chinese side was chaired by Director-General of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Di.
In his speech during the opening of the forum's session, HE the Ambassador Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al Sahlawi praised the successful outcome of the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Forum, and the positive results it has accomplished, which would contribute to the enhancement and expansion cooperation in all fields.
His Excellency commended the People Republic of China's support of Arab issues, especially the Palestinian cause, considering it the core of the conflict in the region and the primary and most important Arab cause- which will remain a source of instability and lack of security for the world and the Middle East unless a just and comprehensive settlement is reached, based on international resolutions that restores all the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is the establishment of their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Al Quds as its Capital.
His Excellency said that the Arab States are still counting on the friendly People's Republic of China to play a role in resolving the region's crises, foremost of which is the Yemen crisis, the Syrian issue and the situation in Libya, especially since China is one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, as it is a powerfully major country that has influence in the international arena, which qualifies it to play such roles.
HE Ambassador Al Sahlawi affirmed that the visit that HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani paid to Beijing on Jan. 31, 2019, has contributed to strengthening the frameworks of strategic cooperation between the two countries in various fields, adding that the visit has also resulted on the signing of more than seven significant agreements that opened new horizons for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.
His Excellency pointed out that the trade exchange's rate between the two countries increased to more than $10 billion, while the State of Qatar is the first source of natural gas to the Republic of China.
He expressed that the State of Qatar is looking forward to more cooperation in the coming years, especially since Qatar has investments in China because of its confidence in the Chinese economy and hopes to open new horizons to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries in the fields of economy and trade, through the Silk Road that links China to the region, in addition to enhancing the sports cooperation in the field of organizing sports events and world championships, particularly the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
HE the Ambassador concluded his speech by stressing that the China-Arab Forum, which was established as a platform for exchanging visions and ideas, and a framework that protects the developing network of Arab-Chinese interests in all fields, makes both sides speed up their pace progressively and make efforts to expand the space for consultation, coordination and cooperation between them and translate mutual trust into a tangible reality that the Chinese and Arabs both can sense.
The session will discuss issues related to Arab-Chinese cooperation in various fields, in addition to developments in the region, especially in Palestine, Syria, Libya and Yemen. (QNA)
