Pandas sent by China arrive in Qatar ahead of World Cup
The first delegation led by Chinese ambassador to Qatari authorities has arrived in the country ahead of next month’s 2022 FIFA World Cup, an official said on May 10.
As part of a larger Chinese diplomatic delegation, Xu Wei, deputy director and representative of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and his Chinese colleague, Li Xing, will be on their way to Doha, Al-Jazeera reported.
“The Ambassador will meet the committee about the plans for hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the preparations for the Qatar 2022 and also hold meetings about other areas,” a senior Qatari diplomat told Al-Jazeera.
The delegation’s arrival is not the first since the Chinese ambassador arrived in Doha on May 3. According to the report, the Chinese delegation was supposed to arrive on May 8, but the Chinese ambassador canceled several meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chinese ambassador has been leading the Chinese delegation since the beginning of the month. On April 1, the news website The Diplomat reported that Li had visited Doha to discuss the preparations for the 2020 summer Olympics.
On April 5, the embassy’s deputy director, Xu, was also in Doha to discuss the preparations for the international football competitions.
At the time, an embassy official told Al-Jazeera that the delegation was not a regular one, but the first of the sort in the country’s history. It is a large delegation following the country’s efforts to host the 2022 tournament.
In February, the Beijing-based Global Times reported on the plans for the 2022 tournament. The newspaper said the Qatari side was expected to begin preparation for the competition within the next two months.
In addition to the Chinese and Qataris who will be attending the World Cup, several ambassadors from other countries, including Brazil, India, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, have been attending the event in Doha, in recent weeks.
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