Qatar and Ukraine are working to intensify political and economic cooperation even as countries worldwide are looking for new ways to develop partnerships amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, an official of the Qatar-Ukraine Business Forum (QUBF) has said.

The governments of both the nations have been active in efforts to further develop strategic bilateral relations, said QUBF founder and chairperson Dr Olga Revina, citing the March 31 phone conversation between HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.

“On May 6, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, during a phone call with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has agreed to coordinate efforts to jointly combat the spread of coronavirus,” Revina said.

Similarly, both the leaders also discussed the prospects of collaboration in food and energy security, infrastructure, and maritime sectors to arrive at mutually-beneficial conditions for attracting Qatari investments into Ukraine, noted Revina.

“The immediate result of this communication saw Qatari humanitarian medical aid being delivered to Ukraine to help the country combat an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” she pointed out.

“A further positive outcome of the general agreements reached by the leaders of both countries is the constructive dialogue initiated between HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed al-Sulaiti and the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva, which places particular attention on implementing several promising investment projects in Ukraine in the field of agriculture, transport, and medical infrastructure,” Revina continued.

Only recently, al-Sulaiti and Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklii discussed the potential renewal of flights and flight schedules between Doha and Kyiv “in the near future,” which, according to Revina, “is another promising stepping stone for bilateral cooperation.”

Revina stressed that “the next significant step” in the development of joint economic relations is QTerminals’ $120mn investment in Ukraine’s Port of Olvia as part of efforts to expand its operations in the Black Sea region.

“QTerminals' investment in the Port of Olvia will be a one of the largest foreign direct investments into Ukraine’s port industry since its Independence. The formal procedure planned to finalise the agreement is set to take place after the lifting of quarantine restrictions in both countries,” Revina said.


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