DUBAI: Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani hosted on Monday evening President Emmanuel Macron at Lusail Palance for official talks, in a historic first state visit by a leader of the French republic to the Gulf state.

Sheikh Tamim expressed his aspiration to further strengthen the country’s bilateral partnership with Paris across various fields, state news agency QNA reported.

“The two sides reviewed bilateral cooperation and the strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as ways to strengthen and develop them across various sectors, primarily the economic, investment, security, and defense spheres,” QNA said.

Macron is doing a round of Gulf countries and earlier this week has met with leaders from Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain.

Macron has secured the delivery of an additional 200,000 tonnes of diesel per month from the UAE and Bahrain, the French presidency said on Tuesday, as he continues to secure oil and diesel and bring down prices in France.