After more than a decade, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will be back in Manila from April 21 to 22 to strengthen the two countries’ bilateral ties.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani delivers a speech during a state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Feb. 27, 2024. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
The Emir’s two-day state visit was made upon the invitation of President Marcos.
In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) bared the bilateral meeting of the two leaders to discuss ways to strengthen the countries’ ties.
“The two leaders are expected to exchange views on regional issues and to discuss PH-Qatar bilateral relations which now covers cooperation in the areas of labor, climate change, trade and investments, energy security, education, youth, and sports, among others,” it said.
Marcos and Al Thani are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting on Monday, April 22, at the Malacañan Palace.
The Qatari leader will receive arrival honors before the meeting, and there is also a signing ceremony scheduled after.
According to the PCO, the last state visit of a Qatar emir to the Philippines was in 2012.
The Peninsula Qatar also reported that after the Philippines, he will go to Bangladesh and Nepal.
Al Thani, who assumed the duties of emir from his father in 2013, was educated at the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst.
He is the Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, in addition to his chairmanship of the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, and the National Security Council.