By Shakeel Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday returned home after completing day-long visit of Qatar which focused at strengthening the bilateral cooperation and exchanging views on regional developments.
During the visit, the prime minister met Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim
bin Hamad Al Thani at Amiri Diwan of Qatar. The visit was part of regular exchange
of high level visits between the two countries, a PM Office press release said.
This is the second visit of the prime minister to Qatar after taking office. The Qatari Amir had visited Pakistan in June 2019, which resulted in strengthening bilateral collaboration in diverse areas.
Pakistan and Qatar enjoy close and cordial ties based on mutual trust and understanding. The bilateral relationship is broad-based and multifaceted, covering diverse fields including political, trade, commercial, defence, people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday departed on a day-long visit to Qatar on Thursday as part of regular exchange of high-level visits between the two countries. it is the second tour of the PM to Qatar after taking office. The focus of the visit will be on strengthening bilateral cooperation and exchanging views on regional developments. The prime minister visit comes just two days before the US and Taliban are scheduled to sign a peace deal in Doha.
According to a statement by the Foreign Office, the prime minister will meet His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar during his visit. PM Imran will also hold a meeting with Emir of Qatar and his Qatari counterpart to discuss issues of mutual interest. The premier will also hold a meeting with Qatari investors and the business community. The focus of the prime minister’s visit will be on strengthening bilateral cooperation and exchanging views on regional developments. This will be the second visit by PM Imran to Qatar since taking office in 2018. His Highness the Amir of Qatar visited Pakistan in June 2019.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Special Assistant to PM on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfikar Bukhari and Special Assistant to PM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar will be accompanying the prime minister. Last year, Pakistan and Qatar signed three Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the fields of trade, investment, tourism and financial intelligence after PM Imran’s maiden visit to the country. The first MoU between the countries was for the establishment of Pakistan-Qatar joint working group on trade and investment. The second on cooperation in the fields of tourism and business events.
The third MoU was related to cooperation in the field of exchange of financial intelligence, anti-money laundering and to check terror financing. Both sides also agreed to expand collaboration in the fields of agriculture and food, enhance cooperation in the energy sector including LNG and LPG fields and exploration and production of oil and gas. The agreement was also reached to promote Qatar’s investments in energy, tourism and hospitality industries and increase the number of Pakistani workers employed in Qatar.
