Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex planting a tree in the gardens of British Ambassador’s residence in Doha, recently.
Doha: The Qur’anic Botanic Garden (QBG), the first garden in the world to exhibit all the plant species mentioned in the Holy Quran, Hadith, and Sunnah, has presented an Umbrella Thorn tree (as-Samra) to the British Embassy in Qatar to mark Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee this year.
The tree was planted in the British Ambassador’s residence gardens by Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex, in the presence of H E Jon Wilks CMG, the British Ambassador to Qatar, and Fatima Al Khulaifi, QBG Director, and in support of The Queen’s Green Canopy, a unique initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, which invites people to plant a tree for the Jubilee. The Countess visited Qatar earlier this year, as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
The Umbrella Thorn tree is native to Qatar and the Arabian Peninsula, and integral to environmental efforts to support ecosystems and enhance biodiversity in desert regions.
The donation is part of QBG’s pledge to donate 2.5 million trees to be planted by Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) volunteers throughout Qatar over a period of 10 years. It is also part of the initiative of the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization to plant 50 million trees in Arab countries, and is consistent with Qatar committing to planting 10 million trees by 2030.
Commenting on the occasion, Al Khulaifi said: “QBG has enjoyed excellent ties with Doha’s diplomatic community since its establishment over a decade ago. Today’s event and celebration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee with the British Embassy further underscores our commitment to furthering local and international environmental protection goals through close collaboration with Qatar’s diplomatic, humanitarian, and environmental stakeholders. We commend the British Embassy for joining our Ghars tree-planting campaign in 2015 and in 2020, when we had the pleasure of welcoming H E Jon Wilks to our garden. We are pleased to once again work with the British Embassy on this special occasion.”
Jon Wilks said: “On behalf of all my colleagues at the British Embassy in Doha, we are grateful for the continued support of the QBG in donating a Samra tree to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee this year. This tree will stand in the grounds of my residence as a beautiful tribute to the long-standing and well-established relations between our two countries at all levels, including between our royal families.”
