Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has stated that the liquefied natural gas (LNG), one of the cleanest fossil fuels and a core pillar of Qatar’s economy, is a key tool that the country utilizes to make the world a better place by mitigating the effects of climate change while also ensuring a more stable economy.
HE Sheikh Mohamed made the comments during the event of Raisina Dialogue, which was virtually hosted by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation.
He said that Qatar is financing development with the help of countries in need, many of which are severely affected by climate change. “For example, His Highness the Amir in 2019 pledged $100mn to small countries and islands that have been affected by climate change. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) focuses heavily on the impact of investment as it’s part of the One Planet initiative,” HE Sheikh Mohamed added.
HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs Qatar
“One of the examples is in India. An investment we are really happy about is in a power company to ensure transforming the coal plants into gas plants and hopefully to renewables. So, we have committed with that power company, which is part of Adani Group, to become a coal-free company by 2030 and this was the main purpose of that investment. Another initiative the state is looking at is in Africa, where it is investing in more than 10 countries with a European partner to build a new, green power plant that will focus on renewable sources such as wind and solar. Another initiative was through a QIA investment that is implementing several projects in South America and the US. There was a big focus to invest locally and internationally in the field. Qatar has built a very large solar power plant.”
According to HE Sheikh Mohamed, Qatar has one of the largest carbon storage facilities in the region and believes that the FIFA World Cup 2022 will be the first carbon-neutral global event.
On relations between Qatar and India, the Qatari official commented that the Indian investments in Qatar and Qatari investments in India must continue and grow in-depth, as they have for the past three years.
Furthermore, HE Sheikh Mohamed has emphasized the importance of continued political cooperation and consultation between the two countries, given the role the two can play in bringing security and peace to the region.
