Salam Tourism Magazine 21 | Page 121

120 H.E. Mr. Askar Shokybayev, The Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan Special relationship between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the State of Qatar Regarding the importance of tourism sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Al-Salam Magazine meets H.E. Mr. Askar Shokybayev, The Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in Doha to talk about the recent marked prosperity in the tourism sector of the Republic. During the conversation, he assures that Kazakhstan has special tourism potentials as it has varied, wonderful and unique terrains, where the mountains, green valleys, plains and climate diversity are inherent features. Initially, the Ambassador, Askar confirms the strong relationship between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the State of Qatar, as His Highness Sheikh/ Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the current Emir of the State of Qatar, likes the Republic of Kazakhstan and has visited the republic last year, and many official delegations have visited Kazakhstan as well, such as Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, the former foreign minister, head of the Qatar investment Authority and the Governor of Qatar Central Bank. Such visits are reciprocal, as the former President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Nursultan Nazarbayev has paid a visit to the state of Qatar last year. “We offer all possible facilities for those who wish to visit Kazakhstan and open our gates to all Arab and Western nationalities expatriating to our land” the Ambassador said The Ambassador avers the importance of providing tourism consultations and facilities for the Qatari tourists and the expatriates in the State of Qatar. “We, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Qatar are pleased to offer all possible facilities for those wishing to visit Kazakhstan and open our gates to all Arab and Western nationalities expatriating to us. As there is a strict relationship between the State of Qatar and Kazakhstan, so, the Qatari citizen can obtain a visa directly from the embassy of Kazakhstan within just 24 hours.” The Ambassador said. He also added “we have a lot of infrastructures that serve the tourism sector such as hotels, as we have all kinds of hotels starting from one-star to seven-star to meet the needs of tourists. The Republic possesses the fundamental potential i.e. the stability and security. In addition to that, the fact that the Kazakh people are hospitable and friendly toward the other peoples especially the Qataris” As to Providing facilities for investors, the Ambassador assures that they offer all facilities for Qatari investors and the embassy has good and special relations with the Ministry of Investment and Development that is responsible for investment abroad and they have constant contact with them to arrange the visits of Qatari investors who wish to invest in Kazakhstan and such Qatari investors are welcomed by the officials of Kazakhstan.