Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the diplomatic and trade opportunities presented for the UK by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Qatar has an ambitious infrastructure programme for the 2022 World Cup worth over £140billion, offering significant opportunities for UK companies. UK Government officials are in regular contact with the Qatari World Cup’s organising body, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. As part of their discussions they highlight British companies’ expertise in fields such as security, hospitality, stadium management in staging global sports events.

The UK wants Qatar’s 2022 World Cup to be a success and to be Qatar’s key delivery partner. As the UK showed during London 2012, international sporting events help to build stronger friendships between people of different countries. This is the first time that the Gulf has hosted this tournament and the UK has lots of experience it can share. This means opportunities for even stronger cooperation and engagement across all aspects of our bilateral relationship.