MADRID —
Qatar’s emir began a state visit to Spain on
Tuesday as Europe seeks to diversify its natural gas supply sources to reduce
its energy dependence on Russia.
اضافة اعلان
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was welcomed by King
Felipe VI at Madrid’s royal palace at the start of his two-day visit, his first
to Spain since he ascended the throne in 2013.
The emir, who is accompanied by Qatar’s foreign and
energy ministers, is scheduled to hold talks with
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
on Wednesday.
Spain and Qatar are expected to sign a dozen
economic and commercial contracts during his visit, mainly regarding energy,
according to a Spanish government source.
The visit comes as the EU is aiming to cut its
reliance on Russian gas by two-thirds this year due to Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine.
Russia currently supplies around 40 percent of
Europe’s gas needs.
Qatar, which has the third-largest natural gas
reserves in the world, is currently Spain’s fifth-biggest supplier of natural
gas after the US, Algeria, Nigeria, and
Egypt.
The country accounted for 4.4 percent of Spain’s
total gas imports in April and the Spanish government hopes this share could
increase.
“We are working closely with our European
counterparts” on the long-term supply of
liquefied natural gas (LNG), Qatar’s
ambassador to Spain, Abdullah Al-Hamar, told Spanish daily 20 Minutos.
The emir of Qatar’s trip to Europe will also include visits
to Germany, Britain, Slovenia, and Switzerland, where he will attend the World
Economic Forum which will run in the mountain resort of Davos from May 22–26.
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