Gulf Times added a new leaf to its illustrious history of 34 years with the launch of a new page devoted to Latin America at a ceremony attended by diplomats from 10 South American countries yesterday. Gulf Publishing and Printing Company vice- chairman Hussain Alfardan, who presided over the programme, welcomed the envoys and assured them of every assistance in enhancing political and trade relations between Qatar and the countries in the South American continent. Alfardan urged the ambassadors to capitalise on the opportunities offered by a booming Qatari economy by actively participating in the country’s many projects and finding out new avenues of co-operation. The diplomats thanked Gulf Times for the “great initiative” and said the new page would prove to be the beginning of a new chapter in the bilateral relations between Qatar and the Latin American countries. Gulf Times editor-in-chief Darwish S Ahmed said: “As the oldest and largest circulated English newspaper of Qatar, we felt it is our duty to promote the Latin American countries and their citizens living in this country in a better and more effective way. Presently, Qatar hosts the diplomatic missions of about a dozen South American countries and this is testimony of the tremendous importance Qatar assigns to improving relations with people in Latin America. “Gulf Times will provide a platform for the Latin American community to promote and project themselves in Qatar.” The diplomats who attended the programme were: Jose Luis Remedi, Ambassador of Uruguay; Dr Juan Antonio Hernandez, Ambassador of Venezuela; Victor Manuel Lagos Pizzati, Ambassador of El Salvador; Luis A Guillen Downing, Ambassador of Costa Rica; Kabalan Abisaab, Ambassador of Ecuador;  Marcello Buffetti, charge d’affaires at the Argentine  embassy; Fabio Chaves, First Secretary at the Brazilian embassy; Cesar Arestegui, Deputy chief of mission at the Peruvian embassy; and Sergio Luciani, deputy charge d’affaires at the embassy of Panama. Saleh al-Kuwari and Sadeq Mohamed, editor-in-chief and managing editor respectively of Arrayah, the sister Arabic daily of Gulf Times, were also present. From GT