MONDAY JANUARY 28, 2019 JUMADA AL-AWWAL 22, 1440 VOL.12 NO. 4528 QR 2 FINE Fajr: 4:58 am Dhuhr: 11:46 am HIGH : 26°C Asr: 2:54 pm Maghrib: 5:16 pm LOW : 20°C Isha: 6:46 pm Business 12 Sports 16 Qatar’s trade surplus touches Queiroz calls for Iran to be almost QR16 bn in December confident against Japan Amir to meet S Korean president today Amir’s visit will give QNA SEOUL THE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani fillip to Qatar-China arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day official visit to the Republic of Korea. The Amir will meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Mon- day and discuss bilateral relations and ways to ties: Chinese envoy strengthen them. The Amir was welcomed upon arrival at Seoul Air Base by Oceans Fisheries Minister in the Re- public of Korea, Kim Young-choon, Qatar’s Ambas- Says several agreements will be signed during the visit sador to Korea HE Mohammed Abdullah al Du- haimi and Korea’s Ambassador to Qatar HE Kim HISHAM ALJUNDI This is the second visit by Chang-mo in addition to heads of Arab diplomatic DOHA the Amir to China after the missions accredited to Korea and members of the successful trip in 2014, and Qatari Embassy in Seoul. The Amir is accompanied THE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim is expected to have a further by an official delegation. bin Hamad al Thani’s upcom- positive impact on the strate- In a tweet, the Amir said, “Today, we will start ing visit to China this week gic partnership between the an Asian tour that includes South Korea, Japan will further strengthen the two countries. and China to give further impetus to our partner- relationship between the two “There are many invest- ships with these countries in various fields of coop- countries, Ambassador of ment opportunities in Qatar, eration.” PAGE 20 China to Qatar HE Li Chen especially after the recent in- has said. vestment laws that have cre- Today, we will start an “The visit aims to ated a good investment envi- strengthen the ties between ronment, which the Chinese Asian tour that includes the two countries and to boost investors must get to know,” South Korea, Japan bilateral cooperation in sev- Chen said. and China to give eral fields,” the ambassador There are many The Chinese envoy said further impetus to our said. The two sides will also investment several agreements will be partnerships with these discuss several regional and opportunities signed during the visit on eco- international issues of com- in Qatar, especially after nomic and political issues. countries in various mon concern, he added. “The Qatari-Chinese ties fields of cooperation. Several high-ranking the recent investment are getting stronger and this Chinese officials such as the laws that created a good is reflected in the recent ac- Premier of the State Coun- investment environment, tions taken by the two coun- cil (Prime Minister) and the which the Chinese tries. Qatari citizens are now Head of the People’s Con- investors must get to exempted from entry visa to gress of China will meet the know.” China and vice versa, which Amir. will play a big role in boost- Brace for rainy, A Qatari-Chinese busi- — Ambassador of China ing commerce and tourism,” Qatar tops 2018 Global ness forum will also be held to Qatar HE Li Chen he said. colder days on the sidelines of the official China and Qatar recently ahead: QMD visit, where Qatari and Chi- celebrated 30 years of estab- Entrepreneurship Index nese businessmen will dis- of investment in both coun- lishing the diplomatic rela- cuss and seek opportunities tries, he added. tions. TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK QNA compared to 2017 and 2018. It DOHA DOHA reflected the cohesion of posi- tive attitudes of the commu- THE country is expected to QATAR topped the global entre- nity towards entrepreneurship receive rain on Tuesday with preneurship environment, ac- as 68.2 percent of the popula- the mercury level dropping cording to Global Entrepreneur- tion believe that entrepreneur- Qatar moving ahead with 2022 significantly, according to ship Monitor (GEM) report. ship is a good professional op- Qatar Meteorology Depart- The GEM, which compiles tion, and about 76.7 percent ment (QMD). independent reports, iden- of the population sees high WC preparations, says Thawadi “The sky will be cloudy tifies the realities of entre- standing for entrepreneurs in from the middle of the week preneurship in 54 countries the country. atar is on course to organise a great FIFA with chances of sporadic around the world in line with registered about 6.7 points out In 2018, about 54.2 percent QWorld Cup in 2022, a top official of the rains on Tuesday, especially global best practices, and sets of 10 points. Qatar is ranked of the population saw good op- Qatar 2022 organising committee has said. in the northern region,” the the results for governments first among all countries par- portunities for launching pro- In an interview with the CNN, Supreme QMD said in a tweet. and decision-makers to de- ticipating in the 2018 report, jects in the coming months, Committee for Delivery and Legacy Secretary- “North-Western winds velop the entrepreneurial en- followed by Indonesia and the compared to 45.6 percent in General Hassan al Thawadi said he is confi- start on the country on Tues- vironment in each country. Netherlands with about 6.6 2017. About 52.3 percent of re- dent in Qatar’s preparations for organising the day afternoon, causing dust Qatar Development Bank, and 6.5 points respectively. spondents said they had entre- 2022 World Cup. and temperatures will drop a GEM member, said the re- The report showed an preneurial capacity, compared He said two stadiums will be ready in 2019 by about 3 to 5 degrees Cel- port showed that the local en- overall improvement in all to 41.1 percent in 2017. and another two in the first quarter of 2020. sius compared to the past few vironment index for business sub-indices of entrepreneur- All the plans are being prepared in ad- days. Sea wave is expected to entrepreneurship in Qatar ship among the population Continued on page 2 Ô vance, he added. rise to more than 8 feet,” the “On the other hand, there are clear and QMD said. concrete achievements in the field of infra- structure, as well as the Metro Rail project, SC Secretary-General Hassan al Thawadi. which is nearing completion,” Thawadi said. Qatar condemns Philippines church bombings In response to a question about the FIFA 5, 2017 is a siege and not a boycott. Issuance of study to increase the Qatar World Cup to 48 He said the Qatar’s economy is strong and DOHA Qatar has condemned the bombings that targeted a Roman Catholic cathedral on the teams, he said, “The FIFA is coordinating with praised Doha’s efforts to have overcome the good conduct southern Philippine island of Jolo and resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries. In a statement Qatar in this regard, and is studying the sub- siege. on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated Qatar’s firm stance rejecting violence and ject. We await the results of the study to take He said the global indicators confirm the certificates terrorism regardless of motives or reasons. The ministry offered Qatar’s condolences to the our decision in this regard.” strength of the Qatari economy, explaining that made simpler families of the victims, and the government and people of the Philippines, wishing the injured a Thawadi said what Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the financial markets in Qatar are the best in (PG 2) speedy recovery. (QNA) Bahrain and Egypt have done to Qatar on June the region. (TNN) Two held for stealing costly watch from jewellery store UAE slammed for politicising sports TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK ute them ahead of the game, games so far,” Kristian Ul- DOHA according to a report in The richsen, Rice University’s National. Baker Institute for Public THE United Arab Emirates “Today in hilarious petti- Policy & Associate Fellow, (UAE), the hosts of the ongo- ness, the UAE has bought up said in a tweet. ing AFC Asian Cup and one of all remaining tickets for the Kristian also called for a the countries having imposed Asian Cup semi-final with Qa- probe into the politicisation of an unjust blockade on Qa- tar and is distributing them the flagship football tourna- tar, continues to mix politics free to ‘loyal’ fans. Non-Emi- ment. with sports. ratis were reportedly being “If the Asian Football The UAE, which will meet turned away,” Gregg Carl- Confederation had any cred- Qatar in the semi-final of the strom, an author and the Mid- ibility (or wasn’t led by a Asian Cup on Tuesday, is giv- dle East correspondent of The member of the ruling family ing away free tickets to ‘loyal’ Economist, said in a tweet. of one of the countries block- THE Criminal Investigation Department has arrested two Arab fans and turning away wom- “Non-Emiratis were re- ading Qatar), it would launch nationals for stealing a costly wristwatch from a jewellery store en and expats. portedly being turned away. an investigation into the in Doha. The two were arrested after checking the surveillance Abu Dhabi Sports Coun- Fans seeking tickets have politicisation of its flagship cameras at the jewellery shop. The stolen watch was found cil had bought the remaining been advised to bring their football tournament,” Kris- after searching their residence.