Qatar's Ambassador to Korea Khalid Al-Hamar speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the country's embassy in Seoul, Nov. 15. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Ambassador expresses hopes to expand ties in more fields

By Kwon Mee-yoo

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is just around the corner and the world's eyes are sharply focused on the first-ever World Cup to be held in the Middle East.

Qatar's Ambassador to Korea Khalid bin Ebrahim Al-Hamar said the country is "fully prepared and ready to host an impressive and historic version of the FIFA World Cup."

"All eight World Cup stadiums have been completed to receive fans as well as all advanced infrastructure projects such as the Doha Metro, road networks and the modern new city of Lusail have been completed," the ambassador said during an interview with The Korea Times, Nov. 15.

"The World Cup has contributed to accelerating the development process and achieving the country's development goals, leaving a lasting legacy for Qatar, the Middle East, Asia and the world at large.

After winning the bid in 2010 to host the first World Cup in the Arab world, Qatar has been putting in tremendous amounts of effort to prepare for the showpiece tournament, investing hundreds of billions of dollars. The Qatari ambassador said this World Cup "will be a tournament like no other."

A unique element of the World Cup in Qatar is that all of the stadiums are located quite close to Doha as well as each other compared to previous hosting countries, with the farthest venue being the Al Bayt Stadium, which is about 50 kilometers away from Qatar's capital city.

"Qatar's compact nature means fans who travel to the tournament will have the chance to attend more than one match per day ― a unique opportunity in the modern history of the competition. Fans will fly into one airport and not have to change their accommodation for the entirety of the tournament," the ambassador said.

"No internal flights will be required, meaning a cheaper and more environmentally friendly experience for fans ― and a refreshing one for players, who will be able to concentrate on training and recuperation rather than traveling long distances."

Being a "green" World Cup is another point emphasized regarding the mega-sporting event in Qatar.

"Sustainability and environmental protection have been at the heart of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 from the very start. There is a firm commitment that this tournament will leave a legacy in sustainability and environmental protection as the State of Qatar has been keen to employ sustainability and environmental protection standards during all stages of the infrastructure projects necessary to organize the global event," Al-Hamar said, adding that the eight stadiums were designed in a way that ensures 30 percent of the energy consumption and 40 percent of the water consumption are lower than international requirements.

In addition, electric buses will be used as the main mode of transportation during the tournament and sustainable transportation systems, such as the Doha Metro system, will reduce the number of cars on the roads, which will further reduce the environmental impact of the tournament.