COLOMBO : It is with great pleasure I extend this message on the occasion of the National Day of the State of Qatar.
We celebrate the National Day of the State of Qatar on December 18, in remembrance of the historic day of accession of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, founder of the State of Qatar, as the ruler in 1878.
In such a glorious day in the glorious history of Qatar, we recall the biography of the founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammad bin Thani, who laid the foundations of the modern State, preserved its sovereignty, safeguarded the dignity of its people, made our dear country, Qatar a unified, coherent and independent State and established the values and principles on which it was based.
On this day, all distinguished personalities who contributed to build our dear country and worked to protect it are honored. Also, the Qatari people express their joy, happiness, feelings of love and gratitude for their country.
The vision of the Qatar National Day celebrations is based on promoting loyalty, solidarity, unity and pride in identity. Its values aimed at achieving them are inspiration, participation, creativity and transparency.
Qatar National Day is great occasion where the people of Qatar show cohesion, solidarity and unity in meanings of love for homeland, loyalty to ancestors and fathers and their unforgettable sacrifices. It is the Day of pride of the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AI-Thani, may God protect him, the leader of the process of achievements, development and promising future.
Qatar National Day 2022
The slogan of Qatar National Day 2022 “Our Unity Source of Our Strength,” quoted from a speech of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, may God protect him, is affirming the approach of cohesion, solidarity and unity of the people of Qatar to face challenges and achieve objectives.
The major achievements that the State of Qatar made in the political, diplomatic, economic, sport, health, education fields and others, reflect the unity and solidarity between the wise leadership and the loyal people, and draw a bright picture of the future of State of Qatar.
This year, the celebration events will include 4,500 cultural and heritage activities within 24 days, promoting loyalty, solidarity, unity and pride in the national identity.
The celebration of Qatar National Day is particularly important this year, as it coincidence with Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Both events are an opportunity for the people of Qatar to show their unity and culture to the world. During this period, visitors to Qatar will learn about the bright aspects of our history and culture, and test our belief in civilized interaction with other cultures, and our respect and pride in our Arab and Islamic values.
The tournament of 2022 FIFA World Cup showed the world, Qatar’s cultural identity, economic, security and administrative abilities, and its tangible achievements in all fields. We are grateful for the support and praise for our success in organizing this major global humanitarian event. We affirm that this unique and inspiring experience is for all humanity.
The tournament of 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar brought the people together and unified the feelings, and affirmed that the world can be united to face the major challenges that threaten all humanity. As a trusted international partner, State of Qatar believes in supporting the collective initiatives and the multilateral action. Qatar is always proactive in responding to global crises such as food security, energy security, the COVID-19 pandemic and others.
The State of Qatar is eager to support all efforts aimed at promoting cultural and civilized openness among the world’s peoples. The State of Qatar pays great attention to develop its relations with countries and regional and international organizations, and actively contributes in promoting international peace and security through mediation to settle disputes by peaceful means, and supports development and stability projects in different countries.
The mediations of the State of Qatar in Sudan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Chad and others, have not just paved the ways for building peace, stability and development in these countries, but also at the regional and international levels. The State of Qatar strongly believes that the peaceful means are the best way to resolve conflicts and end wars.
Qatar – Sri Lanka bilateral relations
Much of our prosperity comes from our relationships with other countries and Sri Lanka is one of Qatar’s oldest friends in South Asia. We value these long-standing relationships which have gone from strength to strength.
The State of Qatar and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka enjoy excellent bilateral relations in all political, economic and social fields. The bilateral relations between the two countries witnessed a great leap over the past years, especially after the mutual visits of the heads of the two countries, including the visit of His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani to Sri Lanka in January 2012, the visit of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar to Sri Lanka in March 2015, as well as the visit of His Excellency the former President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena to the State of Qatar in October 2017.
All These visits opened wider horizons for strengthening relations between Qatar and Sri Lanka.
There is continuous cooperation between our two countries in international forums and we seek to enhance trade and economic cooperation between our two countries through the Qatar-Sri Lanka Joint Economic, Commercial and Technical Commission.
There are also 120,752 Sri Lankans working in the State of Qatar as per the statistics issued as of November 2022, among them are skilled workers and there is a Joint Committee concerning the Agreement on regulation of the Sri Lankan Manpower in the State of Qatar. The last meeting of this committee was held in Colombo, on 30 November 2021.
On this happiest occasion, I extend my heartiest greetings and best wishes to His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar and His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al- Thani and to the people of the State of Qatar.
I also take this opportunity to wish the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and its friendly people peace prosperity and success.
