Qatari Emir arrives on two-day visit today

ISLAMABAD: Emir of Qatar Sheikh bin Hamad Al-Thani will arrive along with 25-35 member delegation today (Saturday) in Islamabad for two day official visit.

Emir of Qatar will stay in Islamabad for official engagements and will fly back on Sunday evening. Earlier it was planned when the Emir of Qatar will land in Islamabad he will be taken to Nathiagali, Governor House through helicopter, but now Emir of Qatar will not be taken there as he did not show willingness.

Qatar aspires to acquire the management of three big airports of Pakistan in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore and invest in three big hotels of Marriott, Pearl Continental and Serena.

Doha has indicated to invest in Pakistan equal to the investment of $9-11 billion announced by Saudi Arabia. It also wants to invest in petrochemicals in port cities of Pakistan. Pakistan will pitch the two RLNG projects for sale to Qatar. There are willingness from UAE, S Arabia and other countries to purchase the two RLNG—one at Haveli Bahadur Shah and other one at Balluki. Certainly the bidding process will be launched and the companies from the said countries will participate. Qatar will also be asked to take part in the bidding process.

During the two day visit, Qatar will also announce the investment in tourism sector in Pakistan. In January, 2019, Pakistan’s Prime Minister visited Qatar to promote trade ties between the two nations. During his visit, the Pakistani premier met the Qatari leadership and the business and investment communities of Qatar.

For petrochemical sector, Qatar will send its technical team soon to assess wherein it should go for investment in the port cities—either in Karachi or in Gwadar. Qatar and Pakistan’s trade exchange stood at $2.6bn in 2018 – a more than 230% jump over the QR782mn recorded in 2016.

Qatar is home to 1,488 companies sharing Qatar-Pakistan joint capital in the energy, contracting, heavy equipment leasing, and plastics sector, while seven Pakistani companies are 100% wholly-owned. Qatar and Pakistan hold strong ties since the 1990s and during the two day visit, the official said both countries will benefit from the agreements to be signed and these will help deepen the trade and economic ties between the two states.

“Trade volume between Pakistan and Qatar can be enhanced through increased business engagements,” said the official, who also hoped Qatari investors to invest in Pakistan’s real estate, hospitality, petro-chemical, food, and agriculture sectors, among others.