Qatar is a peninsula on the western shore of the Ara-bian Gulf.
Almost 80 per cent of its population of more than two million people
reside in the city of Doha, the nation's business and administrative
capital.
The State of Qatar is a monarchy ruled by the Emir, His Highness
Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, who was anointed to the
position by his father on June 25, 2013. As a member of the six-nation
Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), Qatar has hosted many important
international meetings, of which the most recent remarkable one was one
on Climate Change last year.
Qatar is famous for its impressive economic growth in the last few
decades. About 85 per cent of Qatar's income comes from oil exports. The
country boasts the world's third largest reserves of oil and natural
gas. Oil and gas have made Qatar the country with the world's highest
per-capita income of approximately US$100.000; and the country with the
lowest unemployment.
The nation has accorded priority to educational reform as reflected
in the establishment of the Qatar Foundation's Education City, one of
the most ambitious and far-reaching centres for education and research
in the Middle East.
It is also proud of its heritage, with fine examples of traditional
buildings, arts and crafts as well as the magnificent Museum of Islamic
Art.
Qatar plays host to a variety of big international sporting events.
Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid will likely accelerate large-scale
infrastructure projects in the monarchy.
Diplomatic relationship
Diplomatic relations between the State of Qatar and the Socialist
Republic of Viet Nam were established on February 8, 1993 at a
(non-resident) ambassadorial level.
This year, the countries celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
diplomatic relations. Over the past two decades, the relationship
between the two countries has developed continuously. Viet Nam opened
its embassy in Doha in March, 2008 and Qatar did likewise in Ha Noi in
January 2010.
A number of high-ranking visits took place shortly after, most
notably, the visits to Qatar of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Vice
President Nguyen Thi Doan in March 2009 and June 2010, respectively; and
those to Viet Nam by Emir HH. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani in
January 2012 and Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jasim Jaber Al Thani in April
2008. These visits intended to enhance and strengthen the relations of
co-operation between the two countries.
The good diplomatic relationship took the form of a number of
memoranda of understanding and agreements signed by the two governments
in the fields of oil, gas, aviation, labour export, food security,
agriculture, tourism, banking and training. In 2012, two way trade
volume reached $254 million, which was 22,5 per cent more than 2011.
Investment relations between the two nations have also witnessed
significant progress, most particularly with agreements on building the
$1.5 billion Long Son Petrochemical Complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province,
and the establishment of the joint investment fund of $1 billion by the
State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) and Qatar Holdings to
invest in projects in Viet Nam.
Apart from trade and investment relations, labour export is also a
potential area of co-operation, which was stressed in meetings between
Sheikh Jassim Bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, the minister of Business, and
Vietnamese Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi
Hai Chuyen in April 2013.
The launch of direct flights between Doha and Ha Noi and HCM City by
Qatar Airways will further facilitate trade co-operation between the two
countries.
The potential for co-operation between the two countries is vast, and
a modest start has been made with the current level of economic
co-operation. Towards fulfilling this potential, the two Governments
will continue to create legal frameworks and mechanisms to support and
facilitate relations between enterprises of both countries.
(Source: vietnamnews.vn)