Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer met Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi in Doha on Tuesday morning. In particular, the delivery of liquefied natural gas to Switzerland was discussed.
It is expected that the relevant departments of the two countries will now hold discussions on the details, the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) said on Twitter on Tuesday.
gas for winter
For Switzerland, the supply company Gaznat will lead the negotiations, DFF spokeswoman Tina Laubscher told Keystone-ATS. As the discussions are still to come, it is currently impossible to give other information, for example on the quantities of gas that might be delivered.
In view of the war in Ukraine, the Federal Council announced on March 4 measures to ensure the gas supply next winter. It created the conditions for the Swiss gas industry to quickly obtain additional storage capacity abroad, as well as gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and terminal capacity for LNG.
Since these are large-scale purchases that the gas companies can only make jointly, agreements are necessary within the branch. The Federal Council has therefore decided that the branch can carry out joint acquisitions without having to fear consequences arising from cartel law.
The gas industry is expected to submit a proposal to the Federal Council at the end of April. On February 17, the Federal Council had already decided to set up a hydroelectric reserve in addition to a gas reserve.
Working visit
Finance Minister Ueli Maurer and his Qatari counterpart Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari signed an agreement on Tuesday. It is planned to intensify collaboration in the economic and financial fields, the FDF said on Twitter.
The talks in Qatar took place as part of FDF chief Ueli Maurer’s working visit to the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday and Thursday. The Federal Councilor will also visit the World Expo in Dubai.
The stopover in Qatar on the trip had been planned for a long time. Ueli Maurer had already visited this Gulf state in July 2021. The program of the current visit also included meetings with the Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and the Minister of Finance Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari. The objective was to deepen the dialogue started in summer 2021 on financial and tax issues.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats
