Daily Times

Visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Sunday sought more workers and security personnel from Pakistan as he met President Dr Arif Alvi at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Sunday – the second day of his official visit.

During the meeting, both the countries agreed to continue working closely for regional peace and stability while taking note of the progress achieved in Afghan peace talks.

The president complimented the Qatari emir on his astute leadership, which enabled Qatar to make major strides in energy, tourism, aviation and construction sectors.

In the regional context, the president lauded Qatar’s role in promoting efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, which was a notable contribution to regional peace.

The president admired Qatar’s efforts to promote world sports. Taking note of 70% increase in Pakistan’s exports to Qatar following direct linkage between Karachi and Hamad Port, the president underlined the importance of increased volume of bilateral trade and enhancing and diversifying Pakistan’s exports to Qatar.

He also focused on potential for enhanced Qatari investments in diverse fields and the prospects of further employment of Pakistani workers in Qatar. The Qatari emir thanked the government and leadership of Pakistan for the invitation and hospitality, acknowledged the sacrifices made by Pakistan in fight against terrorism.

Expressing his desire to further solidify the economic content of bilateral relations, the emir evinced keen interest in enhanced bilateral collaboration in the energy sector as well as import of food items from Pakistan.

He offered assistance in building Pakistan’s tourism potential through more Qatari investments and technical support in the hospitality industry.

Expressing satisfaction at the pace of recruitment of manpower from Pakistan, the emir underlined Qatar’s desire to import additional workers as well as trained security personnel from Pakistan.

In a special investiture ceremony, the president conferred upon Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the highest civil award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, for his outstanding contribution to the enhancement of Pakistan-Qatar relations.

The ceremony was attended by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani, members of federal cabinet, parliamentarians, members of Qatari delegation and civil and military officials.

The ceremony was followed by a banquet lunch hosted by the president of Pakistan in the honour of the visiting dignitary and his entourage.

Later, Al Thani departed after the conclusion of his two-day official visit to Pakistan.

The emir and his delegation were seen off by Special Assistant to PM on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari and other high civil and military officials at the Nur Khan airbase.

Prior to his departure, Pakistan Air Force officials briefed the Emir of Qatar about the JF-17 Thunder aircraft. The emir took keen interest in the multi-role fighter aircraft.

Earlier, the Qatari foreign minister had expressed interest on behalf of his country to invest in various sectors in Pakistan.

He said his country was interested in importing more than one hundred thousand people from Pakistan for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Separately, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Sunday termed the visit of Qatari Emir to Pakistan a great achievement of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Talking to the state-run PTV news channel, she appreciated the PM’s initiatives and said his credibility had been proven worldwide that had introduced the soft image of the country across the globe. About the visit, she said a ‘ joint working group ‘ had been formed and some targets, including LNG and LPG were identified adding Qatar wanted to invest in power sector that help to address the energy problems in Pakistan.

She hoped the visit would enhance the bilateral trade besides opening the door of more jobs for the youth in Qatar as the two countries agreed to increase the number of Pakistani workers employed in Qatar that would also eliminate the monopoly of India in IT sector.

She said development of tourism industry was the vision of PM but it required a suitable infrastructure to attract the tourists adding this visit would help improve this industry.

Firdous said Pakistan and Qatar had agreed to take steps to enhance the bilateral cooperation in diverse areas including trade, energy, oil and gas exploration, besides tourism and defense.

“Both counties have agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of aviation, maritime affairs, higher education, and defence and defence production,” she added. She said both the sides agreed to expand collaboration in the fields of agriculture and food. She said Pakistan would present footballs as a gift for’ FIFA World Cup’, in Qatar. Pakistan hoped to see its nationals in food, trade and various other sectors of Qatar, she said.