(Portrait of Akbar)
When the new crown virus is raging, "Mr. Shikumen Shanghai" Li Shoubai, who is fighting the epidemic at home, is not idle. With the brush and scissors in his hand, he has created a picture for this silent battle Inspiring work of art. The protagonist in his works includes doctors and soldiers who are fighting on the front line, as well as ordinary citizen families under the epidemic, and a unique pair. The protagonist of the picture is an Arab with a smile on his face and a white robe. This is a portrait he created specifically for Akbar Al Baker, a good friend of the people of Shanghai, Secretary-General of the Qatar National Tourism Commission and CEO of Qatar Airways Group.
Just the day before this work was born, 91.9 tons of anti-epidemic materials purchased, delivered by Qatar Airways Group and donated to Shanghai on a special trip arrived at Pudong Airport and handed over to the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. Boxes of urgently needed protective materials are full of the true feelings of Akbar and the people of Qatar towards Shanghai.
Akbar originally planned to visit Shanghai in mid-February, but had to postpone his visit due to the epidemic. When the talks were postponed, he offered to donate anti-epidemic supplies to China. People have not arrived, but affection has arrived first.
(The anti-epidemic supplies donated by Qatar Airways to Shanghai arrived at Pudong Airport in the early morning of February 22)
Akbar's friendship with Shanghai originated from a visit by the Shanghai delegation to Doha, the capital of Qatar in 2019. The sincere friendship and exchanges with each other made him happy to make a friendly agreement with Shanghai. Under the new crown epidemic, he who is concerned about China not only sent warm words to Shanghai, but also used practical actions to build an "air bridge" connecting China-Qatar friendship.
(Secretary-General of Qatar National Tourism Commission and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airlines Akbar)
"The Pearl of the Gulf" became associated with the "Sail of Shanghai"
Qatar is known as the "Pearl of the Gulf" and is located in the southwest corner of the Arabian Gulf. One of the countries of the "One Road" initiative. Many Chinese companies and investors have begun to set their sights on Qatar. Two of them are Li Feinan and Zhang Yaping, the founders of Guolian Silk Road Holdings. Under their matchmaking, on September 15, 2019, the "Shanghai Sail" Qatar Tour, co-sponsored by the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, kicked off in Doha and launched a series of rich economic and cultural exchange activities in the local area. . During
, Yin Yicui, then director of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, led a delegation to visit Doha and met with Akbar. Akbar said that since he became the secretary general of the Qatar National Tourism Commission in 2019, he has actively promoted exchanges with China in various aspects such as shipping and tourism. He will continue to actively maintain communication with China and deepen cooperation between the two places.
Akbar's firm attitude towards China and his wise words left a deep impression on many people present. After the meeting that day, representatives of the Shanghai Friendship Association extended an invitation to Akbar to welcome him to Shanghai.
The “air bridge” keeps on going retrograde with cargo planes of the airlines
. Since then, Akbar has maintained correspondence with the Shanghai Friendship Association. In a letter to Jing Ying, the vice president of the Shanghai Friendship Association, he once again expressed hope and Shanghai is willing to establish a strategic cooperative relationship, and expressed that it will visit Shanghai from February 17 to 19 to conduct exchanges with Shanghai in the fields of aviation, entrepreneurship, and tourism.
However, the plan cannot keep up with the changes. The sudden new crown pneumonia has forced Akbar to postpone his visit to Shanghai. On February 17, he sent a letter to the Shanghai Friendship Association, with emotions in his words: "Please believe that I stand firmly with the Chinese people who are suffering from the epidemic." Although the schedule of his visit to Shanghai was forced to be postponed, he said, "I treat China. The support for the fight against the epidemic remains unchanged."
(Qaq Airlines cargo planes are ready to go and set up an "air bridge" to aid China)
"There is hardly any country in the world like China that can isolate a city with 11 million people in a short period of time and guarantee its residents Food and daily necessities were supplied normally, and hospitals were built for 2,000 people within a week.” At the beginning of February, Akbar publicly expressed his solidarity with China during the “Qatar Aviation Policy and Regulatory Summit” and spoke highly of China’s fight against the epidemic. Initiatives. At the same time, he also expressed appreciation and support for China's timely notification of the epidemic situation to countries around the world and the provision of viral genome sequences to global medical institutions.
"Qatar is willing to do everything possible to help Chinese friends at this critical moment." Akbar promised to use Qatar's global route network to carry all Chinas worldwide for free.The anti-epidemic materials collected by embassies and consulates abroad provide emergency support to frontline medical staff in the hardest hit areas. More than 250 passenger planes are on standby to help China. The
outbreak in China has forced many airlines around the world to suspend or reduce flights to and from mainland China, but Qatar Airways' cargo flights to and from mainland China are still operating normally.
learned that Akbar expressed support for China in the international community. On February 9, the deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and Changsha Hailin of the Municipal Friendship Association sent a letter to Akbar to express his gratitude: "At this special moment, Thank you for standing with us to deal with the epidemic together."
(Chinese Ambassador to Qatar Zhou Jian (second from left) and Qatar CEO Akbar (third from left) took a group photo in front of Qatar cargo plane)
local time February On the 21st, five cargo planes dispatched by Qatar Airways carried 300 tons of emergency anti-epidemic supplies to China one after another for free. On the ground of Doha Hamad International Airport stood a carefully crafted sign that read: "Qatar Airways and China Fight alongside". The 300 tons of
materials have arrived in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou successively, including 2.5 million masks, 500,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and a large number of gloves independently donated by Qatar Airways. Zhang Yaping of Guolian Silk Road is the contact person for this donation to Shanghai. According to him, in fact, Qatar's own masks and related protective materials are also very scarce. Qatar Airlines purchased through a route network covering more than 170 flight destinations around the world, and used its rapid coordination of fleet capacity to ship to China.
See the truth in adversity. To thank Akbar for his help in Shanghai, the Shanghai Friendship Association commissioned Shanghai-style artist Li Shoubai to create a portrait of Akbar. Li Shoubai titled this work "True Hero". In the portrait, behind Akbar, the city skyline of Shanghai is clearly visible. I hope that after the epidemic, friends from Qatar can come to Shanghai in person and experience the new city. It will be the most beautiful encounter.
(Li Shoubai creates portraits for Akbar)
Image source: Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, Shanghai Friendship Association, Qatar Airways
China Daily Shanghai Branch
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