Daily Times

Diplomatic relations between Qatar and Pakistan were further bolstered when His Excellency, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Pakistan upon the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The two-day visit from June 22-23, 2019 was marked by the signing of three memorandums of understandings (MoU). Moreover, the one-on-one discussion between Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad and Prime Minister Imran Khan is said to further streamline the relations between these two countries. President ArifAlvi also conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan upon the Amir of Qatar at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad. The MoUs signed are said to bring in investment opportunities and create collaboration between Pakistan and Qatar in the sectors of tourism, business events, investment, trade and in exchanging of intelligence and intellect in the financial sector. Each sector has its own importance; however, much work can be done in Pakistan with Qatar’s support in tourism and the financial sector.

Delegation-level meetings were also held between representatives of Qatar and Pakistan aimed at positively restructuring the ties between Doha and Islamabad. It is yet to be seen what impact these delegation-level meetings will have on the future of Pakistan-Qatar relations; however, these were necessary to determine the direction of Pakistan-Qatar ties, resolve any and all doubts and objections from both sides regarding the tasks at hand and to remove any uncertainty present in their relations that would adversely affect their diplomatic ties.

The Emir of Qatar also announced to invest $22 billion in Pakistan. Accountability and transparency of this investment must be the highest priority of Prime Minister Imran Khan as Pakistan is in a dire need of capital asset to add fuel to its industries, economy and other sectors

Additionally, it seems imperative for Pakistan to preserve close ties with the Arab world. While Islamabad has been garnering fruitful relations with Saudi Arabia for long, adding value to its ties with Qatar will fortify Islamabad’s associations with the Arab nations and the Gulf in particular. Likewise, Pakistan has been bolstering its diplomatic, political and consular relations with Russia and China. With Qatar and Saudi Arabia from the Arab side and Russia and China from the Asia side, Pakistan is playing its cards pretty well as far as augmenting diplomatic affairs are concerned. The geopolitical situation in South Asia is pretty unsteady because of India’s growing influence over the region and due to Afghanistan’s increasing internal instability. Pakistan, therefore, needs to be in good books and also harvest productive and fraternal affairs with the Arab world and especially with its allies in Asia and South Asia.

The Emir of Qatar also announced to invest $22 billion in Pakistan. Accountability and transparency of this investment must be the highest priority of Prime Minister Imran Khan as Pakistan is in a dire need of capital asset to add fuel to its industries, economy and other sectors. Pakistan’s government must create a foolproof system in this regard. A committee must be formed that would work directly with the Ministry of Finance and in coordination with all other Ministries to determine and take note of the investment being spend in each sector. Earlier, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced to invest $21 billion in Pakistan that will be spread across three phases. It is certain that India would be carefully watching to what extent Pakistan evolves its ties with Qatar. New Delhi has always been wary of Pakistan’s diplomatic initiatives and the recent one with Qatar may put Pakistan seemingly ahead of India as far as developing and maintaining political and diplomatic affairs are concerned regarding Qatar and the Arab world.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist