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QNADohaWithin the framework of the good relations between the two brotherly countries, HE, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif started an official visit to the country. HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will receive the Pakistani Prime Minister to discuss bilateral relations and aspects of developing and strengthening them, in addition to several regional and international issues of common interest.It is expected that the visit and the discussions that will take place during it will contribute to supporting and enhancing bilateral relations and developing them in many fields and sectors to serve the common interests of the two countries and their brotherly peoples.The State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have close and prosperous historical relations based on mutual trust and respect. These wide-ranging and multifaceted relations are covering various fields, and there is permanent coordination between them within the framework of international forums and meetings. Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are bound with common visions and goals regarding the principles of peace, security and stability in the world, Pakistan has supported the Qatari mediation efforts in Afghanistan, and the two countries have a common vision for a stable and prosperous Afghanistan.Relations between the two brotherly countries have been strengthened through mutual visits between them at the highest levels, the most prominent of which was in recent years, the two visits of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in March 2015 and in June 2019, and three visits to Doha paid by the former Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Imran Khan; two in 2019 and a third in February 2020.The Qatari-Pakistani relations are regulated by a set of signed agreements and memoranda of understanding covering the political, economic, commercial, cultural, scientific, technical, educational, health, security, legal, educational, and media sectors, as well as areas of youth, sports, endowments, Islamic affairs, tourism, meteorology, mutual protection of investments, avoidance of double taxation, organizing exhibitions, regulating the use of the workforce in the State of Qatar, and a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of exchanging financial investigations related to money laundering and related original crime as well as terrorist financing.Qatari-Pakistani relations have gone through three main stages; the first started with the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973 and until 1999, during which the two countries worked to explore possibilities and opportunities for cooperation between them in various fields.The visit of HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani to Pakistan in 1999 marked the beginning of the second phase of bilateral relations, as it laid the foundations that strengthened and developed the ties between the two brotherly countries over time. During that visit, agreements covering areas of economic and political cooperation served as a new era of relations between Doha and Islamabad.As for the third phase, it started with the visit of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to Pakistan in 2015. It was a successful and fruitful visit that led to the strengthening and development of bilateral relations and their transfer to various new horizons, especially in the field of economy and energy.The Qatari-Pakistani relations are currently going through their best stages, since the last visit of HH the Amir to Islamabad in 2019, which is viewed as the culmination of an exceptional and distinguished stage during the bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries, this visit gave bilateral relations a new impetus by signing several agreements to support and enhance the existing cooperation in all fields, especially economic, political, social, and military areas sectors.Following this visit, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani issued a directive to support the Pakistani economy with USD 3 billion in the form of deposits and direct investments, confirming the strength of bilateral relations and expressing the confidence of the State of Qatar in the strength and power of the economy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In 2015, His Highness issued his generous directives to raise the number of the Pakistani workforce in the State of Qatar, and it was announced that 100,000 Pakistani workers would be recruited to work on infrastructure projects that are taking place in the country as part of the preparations for hosting the 2022 World Cup and other projects.In a major turning point in the course of the economic partnership between the two countries, Qatar Petroleum signed in February 2021 a long-term ten-year agreement with the Pakistan State Oil Company to supply the Islamic Republic of Pakistan with up to three million tons per year of liquefied natural gas. The agreement is the second of its kind between the two sides. In 2016, Qatargas signed a long-term agreement to supply liquefied natural gas to the Pakistan State Oil Company, according to which it will supply 3.75 million tons annually of liquefied natural gas, which raises the total volumes of liquefied natural gas from Qatar to Pakistan to 6.75 million tons annually.In the context of the development of economic relations between the two brotherly countries, the direct shipping line between them, which was inaugurated in 2017 to connect Hamad Port with Karachi Port, contributed to the increase in the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, which grew by 63 percent to reach about QR 9.5 billion in 2018, compared to QR 5.8 billion in 2017, This makes the Republic of Pakistan one of the most important trading partners of the State of Qatar, and about 1,400 joint companies are operating in the Qatari market in various fields. The State of Qatar also hosts 7 companies with 100 percent Pakistani capital.Pakistan is an attractive investment destination, especially in the field of banking, insurance, tourism, information and communication technology, oil and gas, energy, and agriculture. To benefit from the economic corridor projects between Pakistan and China by investing in them. There are many Qatari investments in Pakistan in important sectors such as agriculture, information, and communication technology and the financial sector, Insurance, and real estate, along with others.Pakistan exports to Qatar many products such as rice, leather, yarn and textiles, cotton, textiles, and meat, and imports from Qatar oil, gas, plastics, organic chemicals, and iron.Pakistan is the largest beneficiary of Qatar’s initiative to educate ten million out-of-school children around the world, as the State of Qatar supported the Federal Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to launch a program to educate one million out-of-school children in Pakistan, under an agreement signed in 2018.The Lives and Livelihoods Fund, which was chaired by the Qatar Fund for Development during the period 2019-2020, financed the project “supportive of the National Program for Polio Eradication for the period 2019-2022.” Which aims to help the Pakistani government improve the situation of 39.2 million children under five years of age.The area of Pakistan is 881,913 square kilometers, and its population exceeds two hundred and twenty million people. The economy of Pakistan occupies the twenty-fourth place as the largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power, and the forty-second place in terms of the volume of GDP, as its exports in 2020 amounted to about USD 23 billion. It is expected that Pakistan will become among the top 20 economies in the world by 2030 with the emergence of huge projects, including the economic corridor between China and Pakistan and the port of Gwadar, Pakistani trade is targeting a future volume of USD 350 billion.
