Qatar was the first country from overseas to sign an official participation contract for GREEN×EXPO 2027 (the 2027 International Horticultural Expo). The GREEN×EXPO Association (the public interest incorporated association organising the expo) held a signing ceremony with Qatar on 13 May 2025 at the MAFF Sanbancho Conference Hall in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The signing made Qatar the expo’s first international exhibitor. Qatar also hosted the previous A1-class International Horticultural Expo, Expo 2023 Doha. Information is current as of September 2026.
Basic facts
From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ basic data on Qatar (as of 5 June 2026):
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official name | State of Qatar |
| Area | 11,427 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Akita Prefecture) |
| Population | About 3.37 million (January 2026, including foreign residents) |
| Capital | Doha |
| Ethnicity | Arab |
| Language | Arabic |
| Religion | Islam |
| System of government | Emirate |
| Head of state | Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani |
Japan and Qatar established diplomatic relations in 1972. As of October 2025, 702 Japanese nationals resided in Qatar. High-level visits have continued: Prime Minister Kishida visited Qatar in July 2023, and Foreign Minister Motegi visited in January 2026. In July 2025, Qatar’s Minister of Culture, Sheikh Abdulrahman, visited Japan as a guest of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
Official exhibit information
The GREEN×EXPO Association held the signing ceremony for the official participation contract on 13 May 2025 at the MAFF Sanbancho Conference Hall in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Ambassador Jaber Jaralla Al-Marri, Qatar’s Government Commissioner for its exhibition area, signed for Qatar. Association Secretary-General Masato Kawamura and Kazuhiko Koshikawa, Government Commissioner for the 2027 International Horticultural Expo, signed for Japan. In his remarks, Ambassador Al-Marri said Qatar was the first country to officially announce and sign its participation in the 2027 Expo, and stressed Qatar’s strong commitment to sustainability, innovation and cultural exchange.
With this signing, Qatar became the first country with an official participation contract for GREEN×EXPO 2027. Qatar hosted the previous A1-class International Horticultural Expo, Expo 2023 Doha, held from 2 October 2023 to 28 March 2024 under the theme “Green Desert, Better Environment.” The Japanese government (the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) exhibited there and also promoted GREEN×EXPO 2027. Japan’s indoor exhibit won a gold award and its outdoor exhibit a bronze award. At the closing ceremony, the expo flags of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) were handed from Qatar to Japan as the next host.
Association Secretary-General Kawamura described Qatar’s exhibit as one that would “hand the baton symbolically from Doha to Yokohama.” BIE Secretary General Dimitri Kerkentzes and AIPH Secretary General Tim Briercliffe both sent comments welcoming Qatar, which successfully hosted Expo 2023 Doha, as the first country to sign a participation contract. The specific content of Qatar’s exhibit in Yokohama has not been announced as of this article. We will update the page once official details are released.
A cultural primer
According to the official site of Qatar Tourism (Visit Qatar), Qatar is home to more than 300 species of wild plants, including desert roses. The site also describes green gardens and parks where visitors can picnic or exercise, and the Al Thakhira Reserve, home to Qatar’s oldest mangrove forest. Doha’s Education City has the Qur’anic Botanic Garden, the world’s only botanic garden dedicated to plants mentioned in the Qur’an. Supported by Qatar Foundation, it holds around 6,825 trees, shrubs and perennial herbs. These include annual plants such as mustard, cumin, barley, lentils, sesame, wheat and onion, and perennials such as saffron, aloe vera and basil.
On the food side, Visit Qatar describes machboos, rice cooked slowly with meat and spices, as Qatar’s national dish. It also highlights saloona, a tomato-based stew with cardamom, cloves, ginger and black lime, and luqaimat, sweet fried dumplings flavoured with cardamom and saffron.
Our take
We think naming Qatar the first international exhibitor was a deliberate early signal that GREEN×EXPO 2027 is the successor to Expo 2023 Doha. The diplomatic relationship between Japan and Qatar, more than five decades old with unbroken high-level exchanges, is probably also part of why Qatar signed first. The specific content of the exhibit has not been announced yet, so we expect plenty of interest in what Qatar brings to Yokohama.
Other participating countries and organisations are listed in our participating countries guide. For dates, access, tickets and other practical information, see our guide to visiting GREEN×EXPO 2027.