Sheikh Tamim “accepted with great pleasure” the invitation from the prime minister to visit Pakistan.
In a meeting with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Sunday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his gratitude for Qatar’s “continued support” of Pakistan’s development efforts.
The prime minister landed in Doha on Sunday for a two-day trip to the fifth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5).
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stated in a handout that Sharif was welcomed by the Amir of Qatar shortly after his arrival to Doha.
“The two leaders held talks on a range of issues of mutual interest and discussed ways to further enhance excellent cooperation in economic and investment areas between Pakistan and Qatar,” the PMO said.
Sheikh Tamim was reported to have “highly appreciated” Pakistani labourers’ contributions to Qatar’s growth and “particularly praised the role played by the Pakistani security personnel towards successfully hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Doha” according to the statement.
Sharif expressed his thankfulness to Doha for its continuous support to Pakistan’s development efforts during their meeting and emphasised the two nations’ potential for expanding their cooperation.
He addressed methods to improve cooperation in the fields of bilateral investment, commerce and export of highly trained workforce from Pakistan, the PMO said. He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further developing its bilateral ties with Qatar.
Sheikh Tamim “accepted with great pleasure” the invitation from the prime minister to visit Pakistan, the statement further said.
Separately, the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, Mansoor Ebrahim Al Mahmoud, also met with Pakistan’s prime minister to discuss the status of numerous investment proposals in a number of different sectors.
Al Mahmoud and Sharif highlighted investment possibilities in Pakistan’s energy and infrastructure sectors during the meeting.
The two sides had already begun a thorough dialogue during the prime minister’s visit to Qatar in August last year. The Qatar Investment Authority expressed a strong interest in investing in Pakistani airports, solar power parks, and LNG power facilities, according to the PMO.
Al Mahmoud further expressed his willingness to deepen their bilateral economic connections while agreeing with Sharif on the significance of bilateral commerce and investment between the two nations.
Sharif thanked Al-Mahmoud for his “interest in enhancing cooperation with Pakistan in the economic sphere and invited Qatari investors to take advantage of the investment-friendly policies of the Pakistani government”.
“Both countries remain optimistic about working closely to translate existing understandings to strengthen their economic ties and further diversify them in the future in line with Qatar’s Vision 2030,” the PMO further stated.
Upon his arrival to the Gulf country, Sharif tweeted: “Just reached Doha, Qatar on the invitation of my brother HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar to attend the 5th UN conference on LDCs. I will share Pakistan’s perspective on the socio-economic challenges facing LDCs in Asia and Africa.”
Doha is hosting the LDC5 from 5-9 March, with officials attending from various countries across the world.
Afghanistan and Myanmar, however, are not present at the Doha meeting of 46 LDC members as their governments are not recognised by the UN.
