The ruler of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani will meet with President Óscar Arias
With China investing heavily in Costa Rica in the last few years, it appears that the Middle East country of Qatar may be taking an investment interest in Costa Rica also.
The ruler of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is now in Costa Rica and staying at, The Four Seasons on the Papagayo peninsula. The hotel’s ownership is heavily Saudi Arabian and it is the place for those with Muslim royalty stay.
Last September at the United Nations, President Óscar Arias and the emir got together. It is evident that their talks focused on the needs of Costa Rica and not just a social chat.
But what are those needs? Another perspective customer for oil and or gas, which is choking Costa Rican’s with the high cost of it. Prices of Costa Rica gas have been a roller coaster ride since the beginning of 2009.
Qatar is a member of the Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) and is a significant oil producer. The Qatari government has devoted more resources recently to the development of natural gas, particularly for export as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Qatar is the world’s largest supplier of LNG.
One of the problems has been Venezuela’s unwilliness to provide subsidized oil to Costa Rica which has stalled and/or hampered Costa Rica’s deal with China for building a $6 billion oil refinery. Plus, it is common knowledge that Venezuela’s, socialist-inspired, President Hugo Chávez’s has caused disorder in their own energy industry and Arias may be looking for a more stable importer, or one that is not flaky.
Venezuela has also cut back sharply on other types of financial support for its neighbors, which in the past has been a cornerstone of regional influence. One recent study by the Center of Economic Investigations, a financial consulting firm found that Venezuela had announced plans to spend only about $6 billion abroad this year, down from $79 billion in 2008.
Since Arias presidency, he has been quite receptive to the Muslim’s requests, the first one being moving the Costa Rican embassy from disputed Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. Costa Rica and Qatar established diplomatic relations in 2004.
Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani was not alone on his arrival. He was accompanied by at least 70 people and 26 Toyota were used to transfer the entourage to be the only guests at the exclusive Fours Seasons.
President Óscar Arias will travel to Guanacaste to meet with the emir, where it is been claimed that cooperation agreements on issues related to tourism, culture and a memorandum of understanding on political consultations will be signed.
Hummm …what else is planned in behind closed doors meeting will be more interesting.
It’s quite obvious that the negotiation muscle and experience Mr. Arias have, it’s well used for the investment attraction and for a serious foreign policy according with the respect for different cultures.
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