Qatar became the first country in the Middle East to receive Chinese pandas

 Qatar has become the first country in the Middle East to receive two Chinese pandas.

According to the French news agency AFP, the pandas, who arrived in Qatar on Wednesday, are named Sohail and Soraya, and have been housed in luxury air-conditioned quarters, in true Gulf style.

Children and journalists watched the four-year-old male and three-year-old female move into their temporary home at a ceremony in Al Khor Park, about 50 kilometers north of the capital Doha.

The Chinese government has sent these animals as a gift on the occasion of the World Cup starting from November 20. China did not qualify for the event but is a major buyer of Qatar's natural gas.

Sohail weighs 130 kg, and his female companion weighs 70 kg, according to Al Khor Zoological Director Tim Botts. Both of them, along with their two caregivers, who have accompanied them, will have to stay in quarantine for 21 days.

"In a few weeks or a month, it will be ready to be exposed to the world," he said.

Officials have not yet said whether the new panda house, the largest enclosure anywhere, will be ready by the time the World Cup begins.

Sohail and Suriya will have their separate quarters in Panda House.

Qatar is the 20th country, outside China and Taiwan, to be awarded Pandas.