The State of Qatar will allocate $20 million to buy agricultural products for African countries in the framework of the Grain from Ukraine initiative, announced by President Vladimir Zelensky at the G20 Summit last week, to help feed people around the world.
Sheikh Mohamed Al Thani, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the State of Qatar, said this during a speech at the international summit on food security on Saturday.
“Qatar welcomes special programs and projects that promote food security and increase the sustainability of countries. We welcome the Grain from Ukraine initiative as it aims to help African countries get Ukrainian food exports. Qatar will allocate $20 million to support this initiative”, – emphasized the representative of Qatar.
He also reminded that the Qatar Foundation for Development will provide $12 million to the Horn of Africa to ensure food safety, and has already provided the UN World Food Program (WFP) with $90 million to feed famished people in Yemen.
In addition, Qatar has already allocated $5 million to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health for the purchase of ambulances and other medical equipment.
“Qatar remains a reliable international partner, and we support collective initiatives, international activities aimed at ensuring our country works effectively together with international partners to confront challenges that threaten specific communities and also pose a collective threat to humanity,” Sheikh concluded.
As reported, the humanitarian program Grain from Ukraine, announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a speech before the G-20, which will be implemented in partnership with the UN WFP, provides grain for at least 5 million people until the end of spring 2023.
Ukraine has decided to send part of its grain reserves under the program to those African countries where there are already problems of hunger. Part of the grain ready for export can be bought by the project participants, thus the international partners can simultaneously support the Ukrainian economy in a difficult situation and help poor countries in Africa.
The U.S. has already earmarked $20 million for the project implementation, while Germany and Japan are to contribute EUR 15 million, Belgium EUR 10 million, France EUR 6 million and Canada USD 30 million (about $22.4 million).
Groups of fans from around the world are arriving in Qatar, where the FIFA World Cup will begin on Sunday, Middle Eastern media reported. Fans gather in the streets of Doha, singing songs, dancing and preparing for the start of the tournament. Fans are traditionally dressed in the colors of their teams, with Dutch fans in bright orange jerseys already strolling around the city, as well as large numbers of Mexican fans in sombreros and Brazilians in yellow shirts and with national flags.
Qatar is expected to host 1.2 million fans during the tournament.
Earlier on Friday, 48 hours before the start of the tournament, the International Football Federation (FIFA) said that after discussions with Qatar’s authorities it had decided not to sell alcoholic beverages in the eight soccer stadiums that will host matches of the 2022 World Cup. However, it is allowed to sell alcoholic beverages at Fan Festival events, other fan venues and licensed venues. Budweiser non-alcoholic beer will remain available at the stadiums.
Budweiser is one of the main sponsors of FIFA, and therefore only beers of this brand can be sold at FIFA World Cups. Western media reports that Budweiser’s sponsorship amounts to $75 million.
Western media note that the company is working on an agreement to turn one of the luxury hotels in downtown Doha into its own theme park, where a bottle of beer will be sold for at least $15.
Meanwhile, sales of Qatar’s popular drink, Karak, a spicy tea with milk and spices, have soared in the country. Its price is less than $0.30.
Initially, Qatar authorities allowed the sale of alcohol near stadiums, but asked to make the points of sale not too noticeable.
The FIFA World Cup will be held from November 20 to December 18 in Qatar. For the first time in history, the tournament will be held in the Middle East.
The first match will be held on Sunday. On the field will be the players of Qatar, which hosts the World Cup, and Ecuador.
In Ukraine, all matches will be available for viewing on Suspilnogo platforms. World Cup matches will be broadcasted on Suspіlne Sport site (live broadcasts, match records and highlights), local Suspіlne TV channels (live and delayed broadcasts) and Radio Luch (radio broadcasts of matches).
The Ministry of Health of Qatar is softening the requirements for entering foreigners from November 1, they will no longer be required to present a negative result of a PCR test for coronavirus or a rapid antigen test made before flying into the country.
As emphasized in the message of the ministry, this decision is due to the fact that the number of cases of coronavirus continues to decline worldwide, and in Qatar, the vaccination program of the population is successfully continuing.
The easing of covid restrictions applies not only to tourists, but also to residents of Qatar, who previously had to take tests within 24 hours of returning to the country.
In addition, from November 1, residents of Qatar and tourists will not be required to present the Ehteraz app to enter public places. This will only need to be done when visiting medical facilities.
During his visit to the UK, where he takes part in the climate summit, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during which the issue of enhancing bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Qatar was discussed.
“Discussed with Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani the intensification of Ukraine-Qatar trade-economic cooperation, the development of military-technical cooperation and the possibility of supplying Qatari liquefied natural gas to Ukraine. Thanked for the assistance in evacuating Ukrainian citizens from Afghanistan,” Zelensky said on Twitter on Monday.
Qatar Airways, the national airline of Qatar, will launch flights from Doha to Odessa on December 9, which has become the second in Ukraine after Boryspil, where Qatari airlines will start operating.
According to the Odessa international airport’s Facebook page, the flights will be operated three times a week, namely on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Departure from Doha to Odessa is scheduled for 08.30, arrival will be at 12.45. Departure from Odessa will be at 16.45, arrival in Doha at 22.50.
Qatar seeks a sustainable investment partnership with Ukraine, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Acting Minister of Finance of Qatar H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari said during the second meeting of the joint commission on economic, trade and technical cooperation between the two countries.
“In August 2020, the Qatari company QTerminals signed an agreement with the Ukrainian side on the concession for Olvia seaport in Mykolaiv. In the next five years, it is planned to invest in the development of the Ukrainian port and infrastructure. We will continue to expand the investment partnership,” he said.
“Today’s meeting of the commission is a necessary tool to achieve this goal,” he added.
Following the meeting, the co-chairs of the commission namely Minister of Commerce and Industry of Qatar H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari and Ukrainian Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko signed a protocol on amending the agreement between the governments of Ukraine and Qatar on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion in relation to income tax.
The parties also discussed further steps in the development of bilateral relations and defined promising areas of cooperation, in particular, attracting investments, developing entrepreneurship and cooperation in tourism, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, health care, and financial sector, the report said.
“The meeting reaffirmed the desire of the two states to intensify economic activity. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing an upward trend in bilateral trade and hope to continue this positive trend. One of our top priorities is to attract investment in the economies of the two countries and strengthen business cooperation,” Marchenko said.
The Ministry of Finance recalled the first meeting of the joint commission on cooperation between Ukraine and Qatar took place in 2018.
