Visit of Prime Minister Gordon Brown to Doha, 2 November 2008

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today arrives in Doha on his first official visit to the State of Qatar. Prime Minister Brown has hosted HE Shaikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister a number of times in London, and is visiting Qatar at HE Shaikh Hamad’s invitation.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by two Cabinet Ministers, the Rt Hon Lord Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Climate Change and Energy. All three will be paying high level official calls as well as undertaking a number of visits with a focus on business, energy and education.

Lord Mandelson, leading a 30-strong delegation of top British businessmen including a number of Chairmen and Chief Executives of FTSE 100 companies, will also join HE Shaikh Fahd bin Jassem bin Mohamed Al Thani in chairing a Bilateral Investment Forum organised by the Qatari Businessmen Association, Qatar Financial Centre Authority and the British Embassy.

British Ambassador John Hawkins welcomed the historic visit: “The Prime Minister’s visit is a powerful sign of the UK’s commitment to building an ever stronger partnership with the State of Qatar over the long term. The seniority of the official and business delegations accompanying the Prime Minister is unparalleled. I am sure that the visit will help deliver new exciting partnerships across the spectrum of our shared interests in trade and investment, energy, research and development, and culture and education.”

British Embassy, 1 November