Global Affair Canada holds reception for Qatar Envoy on end of tenure

Global Affair Canada held a reception ceremony in honor for Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Canada HE Saud bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud on the occasion of the end of his tenure.

 

In a speech during the ceremony, HE Canadian Assistant Deputy Minister for Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb Sandra McCardell praised the distinguished relations between the State of Qatar and Canada. She commended the role of HE Ambassador Al Mahmoud during his term in order to consolidate these relations and enhance multi-field cooperation between the two countries.

For his part, HE Ambassador Al Mahmoud expressed his satisfaction with the developments in bilateral relations and the contacts that were achieved between the leaderships of the two countries during his time in Ottawa, most notably was the recent signing of an arrangement for defense cooperation between the State of Qatar and Canada and the convening of the first round of bilateral talks between the two countries. In addition, HE pointed out the expansion of the air transport agreement and the increase in the rate of trade exchange between the two countries after the State of Qatar became Canada's third trading partner in the Gulf region and the 11th in the Middle East and Maghreb region.

HE affirmed the State of Qatar's commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, which was clearly demonstrated by the support provided to return tens of thousands of Canadians from around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as Qatar's current efforts to evacuate civilians in Afghanistan and reach an intra-Afghan peace agreement.

The reception was attended by a number of Their Excellencies Ambassadors accredited to Canada, including HE Dean of Arab Ambassadors and Their Excellencies Ambassadors of Iraq, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey and the Russian Federation, as well as the President of the Canada Arab Business Council and Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Essa Abdullah Al Malki.