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Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar, is in Russia on an official visit at the Russian President’s invitation.

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Your Highness,

I am very pleased to have this chance to meet and hold full-fledged talks. Russian-Qatari relations are showing steady growth and have become more dynamic and unquestionably more mutually advantageous of late. Today we will discuss our economic ties and probably look at regional cooperation too.

You have already had some interesting meetings. I am sure that your time in Russia will be busy and productive overall. I welcome you to the Kremlin.

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani (retranslated): Your Excellency, let me start by thanking you for the invitation to visit Russia. We are also interested in developing economic cooperation between Qatar and the Russian Federation.

I have already had interesting meetings on this subject yesterday and today, including with the Prime Minister [Vladimir Putin], and with Gazprom CEO [Alexei] Miller. These meetings have all been positive in spirit.

We have also discussed our cultural ties, taking into account Russia’s cultural and historic heritage. We are interested in building up our ties in this area too.

Regarding our coordination on the international stage, of course we are working to support and develop it. This is something we do pay close attention to, but I think that we need to focus our efforts on the Palestinian issue in particular.