China gifts two giant pandas to Qatar ahead of FIFA World Cup

Pandas

The pandas will reach Qatar in October before football's biggest competition begins there on 20 November, according to Zhou Jian, Beijing's ambassador to the Gulf country.

China is sending Qatar two massive pandas for the FIFA World Cup as a "symbol of friendship".

The bears will reach Qatar in October before football's biggest competition kicks off in Doha on 20 November, according to Zhou Jian, Beijing's ambassador to the Gulf state.

"This is a gift presented by the 1.4 billion Chinese people for the Qatar World Cup, and will surely become a new symbol of China-Qatar friendship," Zhou said at a reception, according to AFP on Monday.

China has gifted the bears to other countries as a sign of friendship since the Second World War, a strategy known as panda diplomacy. From 1984, pandas were leased rather than gifted.

The pandas are named 'Suhail' and 'Soraya', Arabic names relating to stars.

While China failed to qualify for the World Cup, Chinese firms have worked on the massive building operation the Gulf state has undertaken to prepare it for the tournament.

The 2022 Qatar World Cup is set to bring around 1.2 million visitors to the tiny Gulf nation.

The Arab teams that will participate in the competition are hosts Qatar, Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.