China has sent a pair of unique gifts to Qatar, a month ahead of the Fifa World Cup scheduled to be held at the Gulf country.
The gifts are a pair of giant pandas named Thuraya and Suhail who arrived from the southwestern Sichuan province in China on a special flight from Beijing on Wednesday.
The pandas are a part of a cooperation programme on the research and conservation of the animals between the two countries, local media reported.
The two animals are accompanied by a team of experienced breeders and veterinarians who will help them settle down in their new home, designed to replicate the conditions of their native forest in China.
Dong Li, a breeder accompanying the two pandas, had earlier said that the team had steamed cornbread, bamboo shoots, carrots and other foods for giant pandas in case they needed them for the journey before they arrived in Qatar.
It was reported that 800kg of fresh bamboo will be flown into Qatar each week to feed them.
The two animals, who were previously known by the names of Jing Jing and Si Hat, were given their new Arabic names before their arrival in the gulf country.
Suhail, a four-year-old male, weighs 120kg while three-year-old female Thuraya weighs 70kg.
This is the first giant panda cooperation programme between China and the Middle East, according to state-controlled Xinhua News. It follows a cooperation agreement signed in May 2020 between Beijing and Doha.
Doha’s ambassador to China, Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Duhaimi, said the gift “symbolises the depth of relations between the two countries”.
“The pandas are also taking China’s best wishes to a successful [Qatar 2022] World Cup,” tweeted Zhou Jian, China’s ambassador to Qatar.
The pandas are a part of a cooperation programme on the research and conservation of the animals between the two countries, local media reported.
The two animals are accompanied by a team of experienced breeders and veterinarians who will help them settle down in their new home, designed to replicate the conditions of their native forest in China.
Dong Li, a breeder accompanying the two pandas, had earlier said that the team had steamed cornbread, bamboo shoots, carrots and other foods for giant pandas in case they needed them for the journey before they arrived in Qatar.
It was reported that 800kg of fresh bamboo will be flown into Qatar each week to feed them.
The two animals, who were previously known by the names of Jing Jing and Si Hat, were given their new Arabic names before their arrival in the gulf country.
Suhail, a four-year-old male, weighs 120kg while three-year-old female Thuraya weighs 70kg.
This is the first giant panda cooperation programme between China and the Middle East, according to state-controlled Xinhua News. It follows a cooperation agreement signed in May 2020 between Beijing and Doha.
Doha’s ambassador to China, Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Duhaimi, said the gift “symbolises the depth of relations between the two countries”.
“The pandas are also taking China’s best wishes to a successful [Qatar 2022] World Cup,” tweeted Zhou Jian, China’s ambassador to Qatar.
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