H E Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, H E Syed Ahsan Raza Shah, Ambassador of the Republic of Pakistan to the State of Qatar, and Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, QBA Chairman, with other officials, during the meeting.
Doha: The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) has met with H E Shahbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and his accompanying delegation, in the presence of H E Syed Ahsan Raza Shah, Ambassador of the Republic of Pakistan to the State of Qatar, along with a number of Pakistani ministers, most notably the Minister of State for Petroleum Affairs, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Mass Communication, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Food Security, in addition to the Chairman of Qatar-Pakistan Business Council. The meeting came on the sidelines of the Pakistani delegation’s visit to Doha to strengthen bilateral relations and support economic cooperation between both countries.
From QBA, the meeting was headed by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, QBA Chairman and was attended by other QBA members including Khalid Al Mannai, Maqbool Khalfan and Youssef Al Mahmoud, as well as Sarah Abdallah, QBA’s Deputy GM.
At the beginning of the meeting, Sheikh Faisal welcomed Prime Minister Sharif and his accompanying delegation, stressing out the strength of historical relations between the two countries and the economic cooperation in the various sectors such as the commercial and cultural fields. He also pointed out the importance of the presence of Pakistani calibers in the State of Qatar, who work in most of the major Qatari institutions.
The Pakistani Prime Minister thanked the QBA members for the meeting, confirming his keenness to transfer bilateral cooperation to new levels, pointing to the historical roots that unite the two countries, and which confirms the strength of the relations between Qatar and Pakistan, adding in his speech the achievements that Qatar accomplished in its preparation for the World Cup, which he described as a distinctive historical experience.
Prime Minister Sharif also spoke about the business environment in Pakistan, which is conducive to investment, especially in the sectors of energy, infrastructure, agriculture and industry, calling on businessmen to visit Pakistan soon, highlighting the country’s support through its various ministries in facilitating means of cooperation and providing all available investment opportunities. In his speech, the Prime Minister added Pakistan’s interest in developing projects related to renewable energy such as solar and energy extracted from wind and water.
Sheikh Faisal also expressed the interest of Qatari businessmen in discussing partnership opportunities with the Pakistani side, especially in the agricultural sector and food security, and pointed out the need not to neglect the tourism sector, referring to the beautiful touristic places in Pakistan. Sheikh Faisal spoke about the importance of studying potential investment opportunities and projects, both in Pakistan, Qatar or another market, where Pakistan is a gateway to other surrounding markets that Qatar can benefit from to reach.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to organise a bilateral meeting soon in which the two sides will discuss the visit of Qatari businessmen to Pakistan.
