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Today's Paper | November 22, 2024

Updated 21 Jan, 2019 11:57pm

PM Khan discusses economic cooperation with Qatari counterpart

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday met his Qatari counterpart Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha, Radio Pakistan reported.

Bilateral relations, with a focus on economic cooperation between the two countries, were discussed during the meeting. The Qatari premier also hosted a dinner in the honour of the visiting delegation.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Adviser to PM Abdul Razak Dawood, Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Board of Investment Chairman Haroon Sharif, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, Ambassador of Pakistan to Qatar Syed Ahsan Raza Shah were also present during the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Imran Khan reached Qatar on a two-day visit at the invitation of the country's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Upon their arrival, the delegation was received by Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Soltan bin Saad al-Muraikhi at the airport.

The premier is also expected to hold meetings with the Qatari emir discuss matters of mutual interest. According to RadioPakistan, the prime minister will also discuss the matter of exporting labour to Qatar.

In December last year, Qatar had opened a visa facilitation centre in Islamabad for swift processing of visas of members of the Pakistan workforce wishing to work in Qatar. Doha has also promised 100,000 jobs for Pakistani workers, and the government is in talks with the Qatari government to adjust skilled members of the labour force returning from Saudi Arabia.

Last week, Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had also said that the prime minister "may request the Qatar government to provide a credit facility for LNG supplies and revise the prices" during his visit to Doha. Finance Minister Asad Umar and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have already visited Doha one after another in recent weeks and are understood to have put the matter on the table, according to Sarwar.

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