UAE and Qatar officials meet in Doha

The participation of top officials from the UAE and Qatar in the preparatory meeting showed their desire to remove obstacles economic and trade integration.

DOHA // UAE and Qatari officials met for preliminary talks in Doha on Sunday on removing obstacles to bilateral economic and trade integration.

The meeting was led by Khaled Al Ghaith – assistant to Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation – and his Qatari equal Sultan Al Maraikhi, before Monday’s sixth session of the joint higher ministerial committee.

Cooperation in military exercises, economic diversification, trade, oil and gas, renewable energy, transport, agriculture and food security, sports, education and ways to counter infiltration and smuggling are among the topics to be discussed.

Mr Al Maraikhi recognised the importance of consultation and coordination amid rapid regional and global changes.

The countries are working to serve the well-being of the region and ensure its security and stability under the umbrella of GCC, said Saleh Al Ameri, UAE Ambassador to Qatar.

Trade between the countries reached 26.1 billion Qatari riyals (Dh26.3bn) last year.

More than 1,000 UAE companies operate in Qatar, which has 4,200 firms in the Emirates.