IT is encouraging that despite numerous challenges and odds, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif succeeded in securing investment pledges worth $3 billion during his just concluded visit to Qatar. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, who accompanied the PM during the visit, told newsmen that Saudi Arabia has raised its investment plans for Pakistan by $600 million and Qatar will invest in different sectors of the country’s economy, describing it a significant progress in bilateral relations with Doha.
Pakistan and Qatar always enjoyed close and cordial multi-faceted relations based on mutual trust and respect. Qatar is already among those countries with significant investment in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy such as agriculture, information and communication technology, finance, insurance, real estate and others. The credit for this achievement surely goes to the Prime Minister, who works hard not only within the country in a bid to create a conducive atmosphere for foreign investment but also successfully projects Pakistan as an attractive investment destination. The understanding for more Qatari investment came as a result of all-encompassing discussions of Shehbaz Sharif with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, and business delegations. It is important to note that the leadership of Qatar, as usual, showed deep commitment to progress and welfare of Pakistan and businessmen expressed interest in Pakistan’s economic landscape and particularly in upcoming projects in energy, technology and infrastructure development. During the meeting, both sides explored potential collaborations that could drive job creation, innovation and sustainable development in both countries. The response that the Prime Minister got both from Saudi Arabia and Qatar augurs well as the foreign investment would assist the government in economic stability, which is gradually improving with inflation dropping to 6.9 per cent, record remittances, interest rate decline and uptrend in investments. It is also noteworthy that under the direction of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani Qatar is instrumental in supporting Pakistan’s economy in the form of deposits and direct investments, underscoring the depth of relations between the two brotherly countries. Apart from investment, there is much greater scope for promoting bilateral trade and export of manpower to Qatar, which is investing heavily on development and futuristic projects.
