Ambassador Syed Hassan Raza speaking during the Pakistan Embassy Open House at Pakistan Education Centre yesterday. Below: Community members listening to the officials. (Kammutty VP)
Doha: The Pakistan embassy yesterday announced that monthly open house meetings will now be held for Pakistani community members in Qatar.
The first open house meeting, organised at the Pakistan Education Centre (PEC) yesterday, saw a huge turnout of Pakistani labourers, among others working in different sectors in Qatar.
Many community members praised the event and the embassy for finally providing a platform where they can discuss their issues openly.
The ambassador of Pakistan, Syed Hassan Raza, also announced that the embassy will soon launch a commerce and trade office at the embassy, which will promote trade and investment between Qatar and Pakistan.
He said that the Pakistani businessmen and companies will also be facilitated to do business in Qatar with the help of the new dedicated office for trade and commerce.
Officers of the embassy representing consular section, machine readable passport, NADRA officials and the community welfare attaché briefed the attendees about the facilities provided by the embassy. Officials explained the procedure of issuance of NICOP and MRP passport in detail.
The ambassador said various measures have been taken to improve the quality of education at PEC. Starting this year in September, Cambridge stream will be introduced in the school. There are also plans to launch vocational and skill development courses to increase the prospects of employment of Pakistanis in Qatar.
Representatives from United Bank Limited (UBL) and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were also present at the event.
Rao Babar Jamil, Vice-President and Head of Retail Banking at UBL, said the bank now provides 24-hour ATM service that can be used for home country remittance free of charge. The ATM service allows UBL account holders as well as non-account holders to send money to Pakistan through the Tezraftaar service.
UBL is also facilitating people who want to open their bank accounts in Pakistan from Qatar, Jamil said.
Khalid Hamid, Country Manager PIA, said that the airlines is ready to increase the number of flights to Pakistan from Qatar if people demand it.
“We are trying our best to make sure there are no delays in our flights and that everyone is treated equally,” Hamid said.
Syed Hassan Raza, meanwhile, also said that the Pakistani government is conscious of the challenges faced by Pakistan and that necessary measures were being taken to provide basic amenities and facilities to the people.
The event was sponsored by UBL.
The Peninsula
