UK's King Charles Receives Qatari Amir On State Visit

12/3/2024 3:04:53 PM

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) LONDON, Dec 3 (KUNA) -- Amir of Qatar sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, received a ceremonial welcome in central London on Tuesday, marking the start of a two-day state visit.
King Charles III met Sheikh Tamim with a handshake at Horse Guards Parade, where the Qatari national anthem was played and a royal salute took place.
The ceremony was also attended by Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, who escorted the royal Qatari couple to the ceremonial parade ground near Buckingham Palace.
Sheikh Tamim, accompanied by the King, inspected a guard of honor formed by the first Battalion Welsh Guards before he travelled in a carriage with other royal family members along the Mall, which was lined with UK and Qatari flags, to Buckingham Palace, for a second guard of honor before lunch.
Afterwards, they will be taken on a tour to see Qatari artefacts in the palace gallery.
Queen Camilla had been due to accompany the King to greet the royal couple, but pulled out of the official open-air greeting on Horse Guards Parade and carriage ride back to Buckingham Palace due to lingering effects of a recent viral chest infection.
On Wednesday, the Amir will visit the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before travelling to the palace to bid farewell formally to the King and Queen.
Sheikh Tamim will also travel to Downing Street for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The trip, the first incoming state visit since Mr. Starmer's Labour Party took power in July, comes as the UK seeks a trade agreement with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), of which Qatar is a member.
The Amir's visit would involve discussions to promote stability in the region as well as the countries' economic ties.
The UK's Business and Trade Department estimates a free trade deal with the GCC could boost the UK economy by GBP 1.6 billion.
The Gulf nation has several investments in Britain, with the state's sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, owning stakes in Barclays, Sainsbury's and Canary Wharf among others.
King Charles and Sheikh Tamim, who visited Britain eight times between 2014 and 2023, most recently met at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last December.
The Qatari leader was educated in Britain, where he attended private schools before graduating from Sandhurst.
He and Sheikha Jawaher attended King Charles's coronation in May 2023 and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September of the previous year. (end)
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