Emir of Qatar likely to visit Bangladesh to boost bilateral relations

The Emir of Qatar is likely to visit Bangladesh after the FIFA World Cup tournament as he is very keen to take the bilateral relations with Dhaka to a new height.

The Emir has accepted the invitation from the President of Bangladesh to undertake the visit, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Bangladesh Seraya Ali Mahdi Saeed Al Qahtani conveyed it to Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday.

The Ambassador handed over the official acceptance letter from Qatari Emir to the Foreign Minister for onward transmission to the President during a meeting held at Minister Momen's office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He handed over a replica of the FIFA World Cup to the Foreign Minister, reports a press release.

Momen expressed satisfaction at the state of excellent bilateral engagements between Bangladesh and Qatar in various fields including political, economic, defense, manpower and trade.

The second Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in Doha last month took up for discussion many pertinent issues of mutual interests including recruitment of manpower including doctors, nurses, engineers, and technicians to Qatar, enhancing the current 'quota of supply of LNG to Bangladesh, Bangladesh's willingness to contribute to Qatar's food security through direct supply of food grains and agro-products, enhancing bilateral trade and Qatari investment in SEZs and Hi-tech Parks of Bangladesh and a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis.

The Qatari Ambassador responded that the Qatar side was satisfied with the outcome of the FOC and both sides were working on the arrangement of the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries' leadership.

Recalling his old memories in Qatar and with Qatari leadership, the Foreign Minister appreciated the socio-economic developments that took place in Qatar during the last two decades and Qatar's rapid progress in transforming itself into a modern, developed and forward-looking country.

The minister also expressed gratitude to Qatar for hosting a large number of Bangladeshi nationals in Qatar who have been contributing to the socio-economic development of the two countries.

He stated that Bangladesh has set up 100 Special Economic Zones where Qatari investors could invest and urged the ambassador to explore the opportunity to invest in various sectors including the LNG and Power sectors.

In response to a query, the envoy commended Bangladesh's quest for development and peace in its strides for economic emancipation under the capable and courageous leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The foreign minister also appreciated the Qatari leadership for the country's smart preparedness in hosting the World Cup Tournament in Doha in coming November this year.

He expressed hope that the two countries would engage in efforts to make the upcoming high-level visit successful.

The envoy conveyed his eagerness to work more closely with the Bangladesh side in the coming days.