GNA feature by Naana Badua
Accra, Oct. 3, GNA – Doha, the capital of
the State of Qatar won the bid in 2010 to host the World Cup in 2022 and there
is no doubt, the world indeed made a good choice in its selection for the great
international event.
The decision to pick Qatar over the US,
Japan and Australia was right because the small Gulf country is making huge
progress – great socio-economic development strides.
The development strides being made – the
prosperity and wealth it is creating, has not being for its nationals alone,
but also for the needy, the world over.
This position is shared by a group of
journalists who visited Doha, the capital of Qatar, in September, this year.
They were from Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia,
Cameroun, Senegal, South Africa, Belgium and Kenya and toured selected
organizations in Doha to gather information on efforts by the Qatari government
to bring development and how it was making good use of the country’s human,
financial and natural resources.
Despite the unfriendly – warm weather,
compared to most African countries, there is evidence of real progress. This is
visible from the clean, serene environment and architectural beauty of the
city.
It is amazing how Qatar, within a relatively
short space of time has grown into one of the richest Arab nations.
The smooth shinny and winding road network,
the splendid high rise buildings and greenery are indeed are sight to behold.
The country has been using resources from its huge gas reserves to invest in
national, regional and global programmes – the Annual Doha Forum, the
International Youth Forum and the World Cup.
It is worth noting that Qatar is carving a
niche for itself by holding an international forum, each year, on different
themes for the promotion of peace and development to ensure peaceful co-existence
of all nations across the globe.
The ‘Doha Forum’, an annual meeting held in
December, is a global event of diplomacy, dialogue and diversity, which creates
a platform for experts in business, academia and world leaders to discuss
policy guidelines that will propel global security, peace, growth and
development.
With money from its gas and oilfields, Qatar
offers many free services. Where these services are not free, they come with
big subsidies, creating a kind of welfare state for its population of about 2.7
million. At the same time it has been extending humanitarian assistance to
needy groups and countries including those in Africa where Ethiopia and Sudan
top the list.
Areas toured by the team of journalists
included, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Katara Hospitality, Qatar
Foundation, Hamad Port and the Legacy Pavilion of the 2022 World Cup Supreme
Committee for Delivery among other sites of interest.
MINISTRYOF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Qatar’s new and revolutionary visa policy
system has made it the most open country in the Middle East, according to the
United Nations World Tourism Organization.
The UN body also ranked Qatar the eighth
most opened in the world in terms of visa facilitation in 2018.
Madam Lolwah Al-Khater, Official
spokesperson of Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said these achievements were made
through the operation of a robust foreign policy that benefitted everybody.
They had already provided a visa free
programme for 88 countries and continuing to make provision for others, it
considered fit to enjoy the facility.
Together with the Ministry of the Interior,
an Airport Passport Department has been established to ease travel woes. There
is also a visa entry Department, that works to overcome travelers’ struggles
including the renewal and cancellation of residency, amendment of visa entry
and the extension of visa.
‘Qatar continues to enjoy diplomatic
relations with a host of nations including Ghana which has an embassy in Doha
to ensure a strengthened economic and investment cooperation.
Ghana also enjoys free visas for diplomatic
and special passport holders, Madam Al-Khater said, adding that,
in February, this year, Ghana’s Foreign
Ministry and that of Qatar, engaged in consultations aimed at deepening
bilateral ties between the two countries.
Madam Al-Khater said under its foreign
policy, Qatar continued to give support to vulnerable and the needy children,
especially, in Africa and the Arab world to receive education.
Additionally, it has been assisting in the
promotion of women and children’s health.
‘Qatar also caters for thousands of refugees
from war torn nations such as Syria and Sudan who need assistance to survive’,
she added.
KATARA
HOSPITALITY
The facility, which is one of the leading
hospitality organizations in the world, has created an iconic collection of
hotels spread across the continents.
Established in 1970 by the government as the
Qatar National Hotels Limited, it was rebranded in 2012 as Katara Hospitality
to reflect the company’s heritage and its international reach.
Sheikh Nawaf bin Jassim Al-Thani, Chairman
of the facility, told the journalists that with their headquarters in Doha, the
company had international offices in Switzerland, France, the Netherlands,
among other countries and planned to increase the portfolio by 2026.
He spoke of a €1-billion plan to acquire
between 50 to 60 facilities, comprising 10,000 4-star hotels in West Africa and
named Senegal, Nigeria and Cameroun where consultations were going on.
This aside, there is an undisclosed budget
for the ‘Katara Twin Towers’, the organization’s flagship project, earmarked to
host the participants of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Tournament.
He said, currently, there were 7, 912 total
keys in the company’s 40 properties spread across the world – Doha, New York,
London, Paris, Bern, Hua Hin, Milan, Rome, Madrid, Singapore, Cairo, Amsterdam
and other places.
‘There are 3737 keys in Qatar, 3,213 in
Europe, 519 in Africa, 282 in the United States and 161 in Asia, according to
Sheikh Jassim Al-Thani. He put the total number of employees at 6, 499,
representing, a 400 per cent increase, within the last eight years.
QATAR
FOUNDATION
The Qatar Foundation is an educational
Institution established in 1995 to invest in human capital through education
and the maintenance of the Arab nation’s cultural values.
The school system of the biggest national
educational institution starts from age three and continues to the university
after which graduates would decide to join the world of work or further their
education.
Founded and funded by the Qatar government,
Madam Haajerah Khan, Head of International Media in the Communications
Directorate told the Ghana News Agency that the institution had a number of
colleges – Medicine, Engineering, Business Administration, International
Relations, Economics, Journalism, History, Archaeology and many others.
Apart from the formal education, the
Foundation provides courses for workers to improve and sharpen their skills,
community development programmes, translations, conducts health research,
analyses data for airlines as well as data analytic and artificial intelligence
to check on vehicular accidents.
Madam Khan labeled the Foundation as a
vision created for the wellbeing of all people, both national and foreign,
providing the opportunity for students to attain the highest level of education
in their various careers’ and professional choices.
These opportunities were meant not only for
the Qatari nationals but also those from the Gulf region and other parts of the
world, including 170 from Africa, Haajerah Khan said.
The opportunities are provided irrespective
of the ability to pay or not because there are subsidies from corporate
organizations as well as the Qatar Development Fund which has been offering
financial support to students.
She said the doors would continue to remain
open to all people, desirous of achieving higher education, regardless of religion
or nationality as the institution worked to promote the best in education,
research and community development.
Haajerah Khan recounted various programmes
undertaken by the Foundation including the World Innovation Summit of Education
(WISE), an international initiative, aimed at transforming education through
innovation.
It was established in 2009 with a mission to
support new approaches to education and find new ways to manage education
challenges.
It holds biennial conferences around the
world to reward individuals or groups for outstanding contributions to
education.
The 2017 conference, which was hosted by
Ghana, in Accra, recognized Dr Patrick Awuah, founder of the Ashesi University
with an award.
MINISTRY
OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Mr. Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, the Minister of
Commerce and Industry said Qatar had identified great opportunities in Africa
for investments.
“We will continue to see Africa as a future
ally with opportunities in trade, investment and the provision of financial as
well as humanitarian assistance.”
He said although efforts were at the early
stages, his government had already identified areas for cooperation including
food and agriculture, hospitality, tourism and human resource.
He mentioned Ghana, South Africa, Kenya,
Nigeria, Rwanda and Ethiopia as potential centres for business opportunities
but was quick to add, his country was still searching.
Qatar and Ghana had signed various bilateral
agreements and Memorandum of Understanding, prominent among them, was with the
Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2018.
MWANI
QATAR
Mwani Qatar, the nation’s main gateway to
the world trade and considered the ‘pride of Qatar’ is responsible for managing
the country’s seaports and shipping terminals.
The multi-billion-dollar Company, according
to Captain Abdulaziz Al Yafei, Director of Hamad port is the largest project in
the Middle East.
Managing the Hamad, Doha and Ruwais ports,
it offers expanded capacity in three container terminals and brings a host of
new interventions.
Alongside the general cargo traffic, the
port handles imports including livestock, automobiles, grains and a base for
offshore and marine support vessels.
The 28.5 square-metre-facility handles
general freight of 1.7 million tonnes, one million tonnes of grain, and about
500,000 vehicles, annually. The first of the three container terminals has an
optimum capacity of two million annually and estimated to reach 7.5 million.
The Hamd Port received commendation for
dredging project of the year at the Dredging and Port Construction Awards 2018
in Amsterdam, and rated among the top ports in the fields of innovation and port
operations, Lloyds’ list of Global Awards 2018, London.
LEGACY
PAVILION
At the Legacy Pavilion of the 2022 Supreme
Committee for Delivery and Legacy, (Committee for the World Cup Tournament),
the journalists learnt from the spokesperson, Karim Jabshen, that eight
magnificent stadia have been earmarked for the tournament.
They are, Lusail – 80,000-capacity, Al Bayt
– 60,000 while Khalifa International, Al Janoub, Al Rayan, Al Thumama, Ras Abu
Abuoud and the Education City have 40,000-capacity each.
Karim Jabshen said his country was well
prepared for the prestigious FIFA world football tournament and was determined
to make it a big success, something that was going to leave everybody with
lasting memories.
They are introducing the ‘Stadium Cooling
Technique’, an innovative cooling system in all the stadiums to reduce the
normal temperatures of between 38 to 44 degrees to about 18.
Other interesting achievements by Qatar
include the establishment of the AlJazeera Media Network connecting the Arab
world to the international community, the National Museum, Qatar National
Library and the Souq Waqif, a vibrant market, which according to Mohammed Badr
Al-Sada, Deputy Director of the Government Communications Office and Chief
Executive Officer of the Qatar Media City, gives visitors an ever beckoning
invitation, a hospitable welcoming environment and an enjoyable stay.
GNA
