DOHA – Qatar’s ambassador in Mogadishu, Hassan bin Hamza Hashem, has praised the strong bilateral relations between Qatar and Somalia. The ambassador said, in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), that the visit of Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo to Qatar will contribute to further strengthening of ties in various fields, especially in light of the brotherly relationship between His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and President Farmaajo.
Qatar has provided development support to Somalia in several areas, including financing roads linking the capital, Mogadishu, with the cities of Afgoye and Jowhar, stressing that the projects will benefit the Somali economy as a whole, as it links the production areas in the two cities with the capital’s markets.
He said that Qatar, represented by Qatar Fund for Development, has also undertaken the rehabilitation and reconstruction of a number of government buildings, including the Mogadishu Municipality headquarters and the Diplomatic Institute of the Somali Foreign Ministry, in addition to providing 68 armoured vehicles from the Qatari Ministry of Defence to support the Somali armed forces in their fight against terrorism.
Qatari support has been widely welcomed by the official circles and people of Somalia. Ambassador Hashem said that war and natural disasters in Somalia left the country in dire need of relief and humanitarian support, pointing out that Qatari charitable institutions and societies are active in providing humanitarian support, where the offices of Qatar Red Crescent Society and Qatar Charity have implemented projects in education, health, response to floods and droughts that strike the country on a seasonal basis, as well as the construction of mosques, schools, hospitals and health centres, sponsoring orphans and students, distributing baskets and foodstuffs, and holding a collective Iftar in the blessed month of Ramadan.
In response to a question regarding the agreements signed between Qatar and Somalia, the ambassador said that within the framework of the development of relations between the two countries, a number of agreements were signed in various fields, most notably agreements in the field of education, investment, prevention of financial evasion and double taxation, political consultation, and the field of civil aviation.
With regard to the most prominent Qatari projects currently being implemented in Somalia, the ambassador said that in the development field, Qatar Fund for Development is working on completing the road project linking the capital Mogadishu and the city of Jowhar with a length of 90km, and Qatar Airways also launched flights to and from the capital Mogadishu in 2019.
Ambassador Hashem emphasised the existence of high-level coordination and cooperation between the leaderships of the two countries, pointing out that Qatar played an important role in containing the diplomatic crisis between Somalia and Kenya, and the mediation led by Qatar succeeded in resuming the relations between Mogadishu and Nairobi.
