HE Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al-Thani, head of Qatar's mission to the European Union, has hailed the existing ties between Qatar and the European Union, which witnessed a lot of positive developments in the past few years thanks to the keenness of both sides on bringing points of view closer regarding the different issues.

The Qatari diplomat was speaking during a working luncheon that he held on the honor of the EU's head of the North Africa and Middle East in the presence of accredited ambassadors of GCC states to the EU.

HE said the Qatari-European ties rely on several pillars, notably the mutual interest in the current developments in the Arab region and the reciprocal reliance in the security area due to the geopolitical significance of the region that serves as a link between Europe and Asia on one hand and Europe and North Africa on the other.

The ambassador said that's why it's important to contain crises and disputes in the Arab region because of their serious repercussions on security in general and the European one in particular.

Sheikh Ali bin Jassim said all the elements that would lead to a prosperous relationship between the two sides are available, referring to the fact that European countries are the most important commercial partner for GCC states while they rely on GCC oil to meet their energy demand.

The EU official thanked Qatar, president of the current GCC session, hailing its role and positive contributions in quelling hotbeds of tension and stressing the keenness on European countries on forging further cooperation with Qatar, especially during the current circumstances in the region.