The Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, spoke during the opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum about the need to provide the anti-Corona vaccine and treatment for all peoples, pointing to the promising investment prospects in his country, while Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the equitable distribution of vaccines, stressing the completion of the extension Pipes for the first line of the North Stream gas line.

In a video speech during the forum's main session, the Emir of the State of Qatar said that the main driver of his country's economy is investment in infrastructure and development projects, explaining that development projects provide opportunities for foreign companies to increase their contribution to the Qatari economy.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose country is participating as a guest of honor in the forum, added that Qatar is working to increase investment in green and sustainable energy to preserve the environment and combat climate change.

The Emir of Qatar called on the private sector in Russia and the world to explore the investment environment in Qatar, stressing Qatar's desire to increase economic cooperation with Russia.

In another context, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani called on the international community to work hard to provide a vaccine against the Corona pandemic and treatment for all, especially poor peoples, considering that people’s health should not be subject to the laws of the market and global trade.

Emir of the State of Qatar: The main driver of our economy is investment in infrastructure and development projects (Al-Jazeera)

Putin's statements

For his part, the Russian President considered that the international economy has begun to return to normal after suffering from the largest recession since World War II as a result of the Corona pandemic, but he added that the world is still facing the risk of facing new pandemics.

Putin added that rich countries protect their interests above all, and that this is what they have done in the matter of vaccines, explaining that his country has not only worked on the production of vaccines, but also on the localization of vaccines in other countries.

Putin stressed that the equitable distribution of vaccines around the world is a necessary condition to eradicate this virus.

Putin stressed that the Russian Corona vaccine is internationally recognized for its effectiveness and no deaths have been recorded because of it, and that there is a wide demand from abroad for it, and businessmen are visiting Russia to obtain it, but there are politically motivated restrictions on the use of this vaccine in a number of countries.

Putin continued his talk about the Russian economy, saying that it returns to pre-pandemic indicators, stressing that his government has succeeded in avoiding a significant decline in citizens' income, while recognizing the existence of unemployment among young people due to the pandemic and other "objective" reasons.

Putin speaks during the opening of the forum with the participation of the Emir of Qatar and the Austrian President (Al Jazeera)

Putin talked about plans to build the Nordstream-2 gas pipeline as scheduled, stressing that today the first pipeline from the project to Europe has been successfully completed, and that Gazprom is ready to start pumping gas into it.

Putin stressed the importance of cooperation between the regions, ministries and economic institutions in Russia, and promised to improve the living conditions of citizens in the various regions.

The Russian president said that more than 500,000 Russian families have obtained two trillion rubles in soft loans to secure housing, pointing out that there is a program to facilitate housing loans for families with more than 4 children, and that the government is working to provide it to everyone.