MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2020) Qatar expects to develop military cooperation with Russia, Colonel Khaled al-Sayyid al-Khajeri, who heads the Qatari delegation at the sixth international defense industry forum Army-2020 in Russia, told Sputnik on Sunday.
"God willing, there will be cooperation," the military said when asked about prospects of military cooperation between Russia and Qatar.
The colonel noted that the Qatari delegation arrived to attend the forum for the first time at the invitation of the Russian Defense Ministry.
"We arrived to participate in the exhibition, the forum. The Qatari team will take part in the competition. We will visit the exhibition and discover the latest equipment and Russian weapons that have been produced," al-Khajeri added.
Meanwhile, Fahad Mubarak Al-Maadheed, the head of the Qatari tank biathlon team, told Sputnik that his team was competing in the Army Games, which also opened in the Patriot Park alongside the Army 2020 forum, for the first time.
"It a great honor for me [to take part in such an event]. I hope that our team will come to the games next year and show good results," he said.
He also said that he expected military cooperation between Russia and Qatar to expand in the coming years and that it would not only concern the land forces sphere, but also other spheres.
Russia hosts the International Army Games annually for military teams from across the world to come together and compete in various disciplines, such as a tank race, a sniper shooting contest, a flight crews competition and a combat ship crews competition, among others.
This year, the event is scheduled to begin this Sunday and run through September 5, with over 70 countries participating in the forum. A total of 250 teams from across the world � about 5,000 people � are expected to take part in the event.
