Qatar and Switzerland established diplomatic relations on 18 March, 1973.

Qatar’s embassy to the Swiss Confederation & Principality of Liechtenstein hosted a second arts exhibition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Switzerland, on Wednesday.

The exhibition was attended by Swiss officials, artists, entrepreneurs and cultural centres.

During the event, Ambassador Mohamed Al Kuwari recounted the sectors the two countries cooperate in, stating, “Over the past half century, our bilateral relations have closely charted the course of mutual respect. The cooperation between our two countries has scored boundless achievements, not only in the field of politics, economics, or sports, but more importantly, in the fields of culture and arts as well.”

“Art is a powerful tool that has the ability to change the world and inspire minds, and more importantly, to bring people together from different backgrounds and different beliefs. For that reason, we’ve decided today to celebrate using the power of art,” the official added.

The event brought together six Swiss based artists from different spectrums: Eva Wick, Marco Buccarella, Nadiya Karplyuk, Ozgur Akis, Suhe Barts and Valentyna Protsak.

Each of them created a specific art piece for this milestone, and were awarded medals for their contributions.

The event will be followed by several cultural events over the course of the year as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations.