DOHA: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday terming Qatar as a “reliable friend” of Pakistan called for effective bilateral engagement to boost trade and investment ties according to their true capacity and potential. Addressing Pakistan-Qatar Trade and Investment Roundtable 2022 here, he appreciated Qatar for supporting Pakistan during this era of extreme inflation-ary trends worldwide and the economic tightness “beyond our imagination”.
The Prime Minister termed the panel discussion during the trade and invest-ment roundtable as very productive and informative, which he added gave them a way forward for the friendly countries of Pakistan and Qatar, enjoying decades’ old fraternal relations based on mutual trust, respect and support.
He said Pakistan offered huge opportunities of investment in the areas of agri-culture, solar energy, renewable energy and Information Technology (IT).
The Prime Minister said that the present government took over at a time when Pakistan was facing huge challenges of hovering economy, trade deficit and huge pressure on resources.
The only way forward to cut imports including that of the fuel imports was to boost the country’s exports through increased industrial production and mov-ing towards renewable energies, he added.
Highlighting the country’s huge hydropower potential, the Prime Minister said Pakistan offered foreign investment especially to the Qatari investors to bene-fit from investing hydropower generation for immediate profits.
Lauding Qatar for its mediatory role in Afghanistan, he said that Qatar had es-tablished its credibility to promote peace, tranquility and harmony not only in Afghanistan but in the region.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan and Qatar should synergize their efforts in the area of trade and investment.
The Prime Minister highlighted his government’s firm commitment to provid-ing a friendly environment for business and investments in the country.
He stressed that Pakistan was blessed with immense natural and human re-sources and that Pakistan’s geographical location enabled it to become the re-gion’s premier trade, energy and transport corridor.
This unique advantage made Pakistan a market full of promise and opportuni-ties, the Prime Minister said.
He underscored that, having a large consumer market with an ever-expanding middle class, Pakistan offered attractive business opportunities for investors in the fields of food security, energy including renewables, agriculture and live-stock, information technology, hospitality and tourism sectors.
The Prime Minister assured of the government’s full support to Qatari inves-tors in deepening their footprint in Pakistan.
He appreciated the efforts of the organizers in arranging the Roundtable with Pakistani and Qatari businessmen.
Earlier, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Qatar, in his welcome address, ex-pressed the confidence that the visit of the Prime Minister would lead to sub-stantial enhancement of bilateral trade, investment and economic ties.
The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), the Pakistan Business Council Qatar, and the Embassy of Pakistan in Doha jointly organized the Roundtable.
Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Finance Minister of Qatar; Sultan Bin Rashid, Un-dersecretary Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Qatar; and Yousaf Al Khater Jaida, CEO, Qatar Financial Canter also participated in the event.
A large number of leading Qatari business and corporate executives as well as Qatar-based Pakistani business community in Doha also attended.
During the Roundtable, a distinguished panel discussed the enhancement of bilateral trade and economic relations.
The Panel discussion mainly focused on exploring new areas of cooperation to forge stronger business-to-business linkages.
The panelists included Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister of Commerce; Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Ms. Alanoud bin Hamad Al Thani, Chief Business Officer of QFC; Mohsin Mujtaba, Honorary Invest-ment Counsellor; and Dr. Javaid Iqbal, President of Pakistan Business Coun-cil.
Besides, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday invited investors from Qa-tar to invest in Pakistan’s energy, aviation, agriculture, livestock, maritime, tourism and hospitality sectors.
The prime minister, in a meeting with the highest officials of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) – one of the largest sovereign wealth funds of the world, high-lighted Pakistan’s liberal and business-friendly investment policies in this re-gard.
He also urged the Qatari investors to explore the opportunities presented by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) aimed at promoting regional connectivity and mutual prosperity.
QIA Chief Executive Officer Mansoor Bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud and Chief In-vestment Officer of Africa and Asia-Pacific Regions Sheikh Faisal Thani Al-Thani represented the Qatar Investment Authority.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Syed Naveed Qamar, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Ayaz Sadiq, and Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar.
Lauding Qatar’s rapid economic development under the visionary leadership of Qatar’s Emir, the prime minister reiterated that Pakistan attached high im-portance to its relations with Qatar and wanted to upgrade the traditionally warm political ties between the two countries into a comprehensive economic partnership.
He stressed the need to further enhance bilateral economic and investment engagement, particularly in the renewable energy including solar and wind power generation, aviation, maritime, industrial and infrastructure develop-ment, and hospitality sectors.
He underlined Pakistan’s unique geographic and demographic advantages, which combined its strategic location with a huge middle-class market and a large skilled workforce.
PM Shehbaz Sharif assured full facilitation to the QIA through transparent and expeditious processes.
As part of the event, a number of presentations were made by the relevant ministries highlighting the potential of foreign investment in the fields of food security, energy, maritime, aviation, hospitality and tourism sectors.
The prime minister appreciated the QIA’s rejuvenated interest in investing in Pakistan.
It was agreed that designated focal persons on both sides would closely follow-up on the key proposals for investments.
The prime minister invited Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mehmoud and Sheikh Faisal Thani Al-Thani to visit Pakistan at their earliest convenience to build on the momentum generated by the visit.
Terming Pakistan a priority country, the QIA officials expressed their keen in-terest and readiness to actively pursue investment opportunities in the coun-try. –Agencies
