The British Ambassador to Qatar called the UK a ‘second home’ to Qataris and expressed pride in being Qatar’s ‘oldest friend’ in the Western world.

The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has travelled to the United Kingdom on Monday for Qatar’s third official state visit to London.

Accompanied by his wife Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad Al Thani, the Amir will be welcomed on Tuesday by a member of the British royal family from their official residence.

The visit will include attending the Horse Guards Parade at St. James’s Park, followed by a ceremonial greeting from King Charles III and a traditional carriage ride down The Mall, the iconic avenue connecting Whitehall to Buckingham Palace.

This will be the first state visit by an Arab leader during the reign of King Charles III.

“It’s the highest honour, the most prestigious thing that we believe that one state can grant another,” said Neerav Patel, the British ambassador to Qatar, in a media gathering at his residence in Doha last week.

The most recent state visit to the UK was in 2010, when the Father Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, visited. In 1986, Qatar’s first official visit to London took place, led by Sheikh Hamad’s father and the founding ruler, Sheikh Khalifa Al Thani.

That same year also saw the UK’s inaugural visit to Qatar, with then Crown Prince Charles visiting Doha.

“It’s a really special moment, and I think it will be personal for both heads of state,” Patel said. “And for His Highness the Amir, we see it as a homecoming.”

Sheikh Tamim, a known Anglophile, was educated at Sherborne School and Harrow School before graduating from the Royal Military Sandhurst in 1998.

“I’m really excited about what we’re laying down in terms of foundations for the future,” Patel said. “I really think that this is going to be a generational moment, a chance for us to renew the partnership for another generation.”

Defence, trade, and energy

According to the British ambassador, bilateral trade between the UK and Qatar has reached an impressive £6.6bn ($8.3bn), while Qatari investments in the UK exceed £40bn ($50.8bn).

The trade spans various sectors, including iconic property investments like London’s The Shard, Chelsea Barracks and Harrods, as well as high-end luxury goods, jewellery, and advanced engineering products.

“It’s also in areas such as artificial intelligence or biotech or nuclear Rolls Royce small modular reactors,” Patel said. “It’s a really rich and broad set of investments. The Qatari authorities have been very clear that they see the UK as a growth market and they’ll be investing more in the years to come.”

The ambassador also hailed the two countries’ defence and security sector as “one of the most important pillars of our relationship”.

He went on to say that the focus between Doha and London will be on strengthening and deepening the defence relationship across all domains—land, sea, and air—while also expanding into key enabling areas such as digitisation, AI, and intelligence.

“What we’re looking to do is to come up with a comprehensive plan so that both countries are ready for the future environment,” he said.

“What we’re hoping to do is also to push forward cooperation on other areas of security that range from cyber to policing, counter-terrorism, counter-tracks activity, [and] providing security for big public events, including learning from Qatar’s experience of the World Cup,” he added.

In terms of energy, Patel said that the UK relies on Qatar’s liquified natural gas (LNG) as an “essential part of keeping our lights on”.

“At its height, I believe, Qatar provided 25 percent of UK liquid natural gas in 2022,” he said.

“The UK’s ambition is to become a clean energy superpower and we’d really love to be for Qatar to be a partner in that.”

Global and international cooperation

Sheikh Tamim will also hold talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where they are expected to discuss regional and international matters. There will be a particular focus on the broader instability in the Middle East, including the situation in Lebanon and the ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.

“The UK has been really clear about how much it supports Qatar’s essential role in mediation on Gaza and how that’s essential to providing an end to the suffering, a ceasefire, getting hostages out and getting aid in,” Patel said.

“Our view, which I believe the government of Qatar agrees with, is that we won’t have a sustainable calm across the region unless we can find a resolution on Gaza.”

The leaders will discuss Qatar’s broader mediation efforts, including its role in repatriating Ukrainian children separated by the Russian war, as well as its involvement in brokering deals and fostering progress in countries like Afghanistan and Venezuela.

Patel pointed to Qatar and the UK’s co-funding initiative, which is worth £50m ($63.5m) and funds specific projects ranging from humanitarian support to children in Syria, to getting children into school in Sudan and Bangladesh.

“It’s very wide ranging and it’s work that happens not just between our two ministries, but with key partners such as QFFD, Education Above All and a number of partner organisations in the UK,” he said.

The ambassador concluded by highlighting that, despite Qatar’s population of just 300,000, Qataris make 1.2 million visits to the UK annually—an average of four visits per person.

“The UK is a second home to many Qataris, especially in London,” he said. “We are proud to be Qatar’s oldest friend in the Western world, with a relationship that spans 160 years.”