Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Spokesman on: Prime Minister of Qatar and the Dalai Lama.
Prime Minister of Qatar
Asked whether the Prime Minister had any other official engagements tomorrow other than meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) told the assembled press that the Prime Minister would be meeting with the Prime Minister of Qatar. Qatar was a very important supplier of gas to the UK, so the Prime Minister would be discussing among other issues, the international energy market and the gas market in particular.
Asked whether the meeting had been prompted by the recent rise in fuel prices, or had it been in the diary for a while, the PMS confirmed that it had been in the diary for some time. However, Qatar was a very important supplier of gas to the UK.
From 2010, Qatar would be accountable for 20% of UK gas supplies. A new terminal would be opening in Milford Haven in the autumn, which had been a joint project between the UK and Qatar, enabling a significant increase in gas imports from Qatar. So among the issues being discussed would be how best we could strengthen this long-term cooperation between the two countries on gas supplies.
Asked whether the Prime Minister would be asking the Prime Minister of Qatar to do more to increase the supply of gas, the PMS replied that he was sure that would come up, but he reiterated that the cooperation we had had with the Government of Qatar had been very good and one product of that had been the new terminal at Milford Haven which would significantly increase the security of the UK’s gas supplies in the years ahead.
Asked whether the issues surrounding OPEC’s under-supplying of oil applied to gas as well, the PMS said he thought the issues were predominantly in the oil market, but there were issues in the gas market too.
Dalai Lama
Asked for more details concerning the Prime Minister’s meeting with the Dalai Lama, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister would be meeting the Dalai Lama in his capacity as a spiritual leader tomorrow at Lambeth Palace. They would be discussing a wide range of issues, including the situation in Tibet among other things.  Â
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