MADRID: Qatar on Wednesday said it plans to invest an additional $5 billion in Spain on the second day of a state visit by its emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
“The volume of investments agreed upon with the Spanish side amounts to $5 billion in various sectors,” said Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in a statement tweeted by his ministry.
Neither side gave a timetable for the investment, which amounts to some 4.75 billion euros, nor did they say which sectors would benefit.
“Qatar will invest close to five billion euros in our country in the coming years,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said during a business meeting with the Qatari delegation.
“It is a gesture of confidence in the Spanish economy and Spanish businesses which will strengthen bilateral ties,” he said ahead of afternoon talks with the emir.
Before the pandemic, Qatari investment in Spain stood at 2.67 billion euros ($2.8 billion), the Spanish government said, making it the country’s 24th biggest investor.
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To date, Qatari funding has been notably invested in several sectors: civil aviation, construction, energy and communications.
According to a Spanish government source, the two sides will on Wednesday sign around a dozen commercial contracts, notably concerning energy as Madrid seeks to diversify its gas supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Qatar, one of the world’s three biggest exporters of liquified natural gas (LNG), is currently Spain’s fifth-largest supplier after the United States, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt.
The country accounted for 4.4 percent of Spain’s total gas imports in April and the Spanish government hopes to increase this share.
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European states are increasingly looking to other sources of natural gas as they try to wean themselves off dependence on Russia, with LNG easily shipped by boat from countries such as Qatar and the United States.
After Madrid, the Qatari leader will continue his tour of Europe, visiting Germany, Britain, Slovenia and Switzerland, where he will attend the World Economic Forum in the mountain resort of Davos which runs from May 22-26.
Qatar will host the World Cup later this year.
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