BUSINESS SPORTage 4| P QNB Stars League: holds meeting ...

1 QNADohaHis Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Ha-mad al-Thani and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi held an offi -cial talks session at the Amiri Diwan yesterday. At the beginning of the meeting , the Amir wel-comed the Iranian president and the accompany-ing delegation, wishing them a pleasant stay, and the solid relations of the two countries further development and growth in various fi his part, the Iranian president expressed his thanks to the Amir for the warm reception and hospitality , looking forward to strengthen the Qatari-Iranian relations for the good of the peoples of the two countries. He also expressed his keenness to enhance and develop bilateral co-operation and advance it to regional and interna-tional session was attended by HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Aff airs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, HE the Chief of Amiri Diwan Sheikh Saoud bin Abdul-rahman al-Thani, HE the Minister of Sports and Youth Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, HE the Minister of Transport Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulai-ti, HE the Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Subaie, HE the Minister of State for Energy Aff airs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi, HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Qassim al-Thani.

2 And HE the Minister of Culture Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Thani. On the Iranian side, the session was attended by Minister of Foreign Aff airs Dr Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Head of the Presidential Offi ce Gholam-Hossein Esmaeili, Minister of Energy Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, Transport and Urban De-velopment Minister Rostam Qassemi, Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji, and Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Seyyed Reza Fatemi Highness the Amir and the Iranian president also held a bilateral meeting , during which they discussed the most prominent regional and inter-national developments of common interest, in ad-dition to the current developments in the Iranian president was accorded an offi cial reception upon his arrival at the Amiri Highness the Amir and the Iranian presi-dent also witnessed the signing of a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the two countries, at the Amiri Diwan.

3 To Page 12 Agreement to establish EU Mission in QatarFift h Fath Al Khaircruise to begin on July 1 Johnson scraps Covidrestrictions in EnglandDimdex 2022: 200 companies from 20countries to attendLula leads Bolsonaro in Brazil poll surveyThe Government of Qatar, the European Union (EU) and the European Atomic Energy Community signed in Brussels yesterday an agreement to establish the European Union Mission in Qatar, its privileges and immunities. The agreement was signed by HE the Minister of State for Foreign Aff airs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi, and Secretary-General of the European Union External Action Service Stefano Sannino. Page 2 Katara, the Cultural Village Foundation, announced yesterday the timing and destinations of the fifth Fath Al Khair cruise under the leadership of Captain Mohamed al-Sada.

4 Katara said that the cruise will start on July 1 and will include nine ports in three European countries overlooking the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, starting from the port of the island of Malta, heading towards Sicily, Rome and Genoa in Italy, and then towards Monaco, Nice, Cannes and Marseille in France, to reach its last stop in Barcelona, Spain. Page 5 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday said he would end all coronavirus restrictions in England including mandatory self-isolation for people with Covid-19 and free testing, drawing scepticism from some scientists and political opponents. Johnson s living with Covid plan has sparked alarm that it is premature and will leave the country vulnerable to new viral variants, but the government says it has provided more testing than most other countries, and must now curb the cost.

5 Page 11 Under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and hosted and organised by the Qatar Armed Forces, the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (Dimdex) 2022 will take place from March 21 to 23 at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) under the theme Connecting the World s Maritime Defence and Security Community .More than 200 companies from nearly 20 countries will participate in the biennial event, showcasing their products and capabilities, the Organising Committee has was announced during a diplomat briefing session at Sharq Village & Spa yesterday, during which the Organising Committee briefed representatives of diplomatic missions in the country, ambassadors, defence and commercial attaches, on the preparations for Dimdex 2022, Qatar News Agency reported.

6 Page 9 Brazil s former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva still holds a healthy lead in this year s presidential race over right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, according to a new poll released yesterday. The survey run by MDA Pesquisa and sponsored by the National Transportation Confederation (CNT) showed 42% support for Lula and 28% for Bolsonaro, if the October election were held today . The results showed a marginal improvement for Bolsonaro compared to MDA s last survey in December, when the incumbent polled at 26% compared to 43% for TIMES published inQ ATA Rsince 1978 TUESDAY Vol. XXXXII No. 12197 February 22, 2022 Rajab 21, 1443 AH www. 2 Riyals QNB Stars League: Unstoppable Al Sadd rout Al Ahli to retain title in styleSPORT | Page 4 BUSINESS | Page 1 Qatar Chamber holds meeting with Algerian presidentDialogue the best way toresolve diff erences.

7 AmirQNADohaHis Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani welcomed President of the Is-lamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi on his visit to Doha and his partici-pation in the 6th Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which will be held joint statements following the talk sessions that the Amir held with the Iranian president at the Amiri Di-wan yesterday, the Amir affi rmed that the signing of an agreement and sev-eral memoranda of understanding be-tween the two countries is a signifi cant matter, looking forward to following up with them to ensure gaining their maximum benefi t. His Highness the Amir commended the important role of the joint eco-nomic committee between the two countries, which held its last meeting in Isfahan in November 2020, looking forward to the committee s meeting this year in Amir affi rmed that during the talk session, they discussed enhanc-ing of co-operation between the two countries, especially in the fi elds of economy, investment, energy, tourism and other areas that would serve the interests of the two countries and their Amir added that several regional and international issues of joint inter-est were discussed, especially regard-ing the security and stability of the region.

8 In this regard, the Amir reiter-ated that dialogue is the best way to re-solve all diff erences and face the vari-ous challenges that the region is going Amir said he was briefed by the Iranian president on the outcome of the Vienna negotiations regarding the nuclear agreement between Iran and the West, as well as its importance and impact on the security and stability of the Amir pointed out that the State of Qatar is attentively following the progress of the negotiations and hopes that a solution and agreement that satisfi es all parties, and guarantees the right of countries to peaceful uses of nuclear energy in accordance with in-ternational agreements and resolutions, will be reached in the near future.

9 In this area, the Amir reiterated Qatar s prepar-edness to provide any possible assist-ance in order to reach an agreement that ends the dispute and ensures the securi-ty and stability of the region. To Page 12 The Amir and the Iranian president gave a joint statement after they held talks at the Amiri Diwan yesterday. Iran keen for better relations with Gulf countries: RaisiPutin recognises Ukraine rebel regionsAmir to patronise opening of GECF Summit todayRussian President Vladimir Pu-tin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities yesterday, up-ping the ante in a crisis the West fears could unleash a major a lengthy televised address, Putin described Ukraine as an integral part of Russia s history and said eastern Ukraine was ancient Russian lands and that he was confi dent that the Russian people would support his announced his decision in phone calls to the leaders of Germany and France, who voiced disappoint-ment, the Kremlin said.

10 And was later shown on state television signing the s move could torpedo a last-minute bid for a summit with US President Joe Biden to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine. I deem it necessary to make a de-cision that should have been made a long time ago to immediately recog-nise the independence and sovereign-ty of the Donetsk People s Republic and the Luhansk People s Republic, Putin demanded that Ukraine im-mediately end military operations in the east of the country or face respon-sibility for possible bloodshed. We demand an immediate end to military operations, Putin said, ad-dressing Ukraine s leadership during the address. European Union leaders de-nounced Putin s decision to recognise the independence of Ukraine s sepa-ratist regions and warned the bloc and its allies will react fi rmly.