Doha, 20 March 2023

HE Dr. Muhemmed Aejaz, ambassador of Pakistan to State of Qatar has said that Pakistan and Qatar have drawn closer to each other every passing year during the past five decades of diplomatic relations, bringing up new opportunities for cooperation and collaboration in the 21^st century. He was addressing at a gala reception hosted by him celebrating 82nd National Day of Pakistan coincided with 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Pakistan.

Present on the occasion were HE Masoud bin Mohammed Al Ameri, Minister of Justice of State of Qatar; HE Sheikh Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani; HE Engineer Ali Al Misnad; HE Ibrahim Yousuf Fakhro, Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; HE Ali Ibrahim Ahmed, Dean of Diplomatic Corps and ambassador of Eritrea; members of diplomatic corps; dignitaries; Pakistani community members and guests.

He said that Qatar and Pakistan are brotherly countries have enjoyed a long-standing relationship based on shared religious and cultural values and common interests at the peoples’ level. Over the past five decades of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Pakistan, the greatest achievement is the strong foundation of mutual trust and respect that both sides have built together, generation after generation. Today our cooperation expands through a broad spectrum of sectors, from bilateral and multilateral political partnership, to cherished mutual economic development goals and from further strengthening of close people to people contacts, to expansion of trade and technological cooperation into diverse sectors, besides a notable, close cooperation in the fields of security and defense, to name a few.

Pakistan's envoy expressed his profound and sincere appreciation to the State of Qatar, and especially to HH the Emir of Qatar,  Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani for HH continued support and cooperation towards Pakistan.

He said that His Highness repeated expression of brotherly feelings amply supported by strong gestures each time, is the most cherishable source of strength for both countries. We are grateful to His Highness for his personal interest in the efforts to achieve our shared goals and build mutually rewarding economic ties, he said.

He said that close ties between Pakistan and Qatar have been demonstrated by a regular exchange of high level visits. Of late, these included HH visit to Pakistan in 2019, and the visits of Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to Qatar in 2022 and 2023. These leadership level interactions have been instrumental in deepening mutual understanding of each other's priorities and appreciation of views on issues of bilateral interest. These engagements have also helped to broaden the spectrum of our cooperation from trade, economic and security areas to also include energy, aviation, IT and technological sector, tourism, and food security, in recent years.

Ambassador Aejaz said that Pakistan has been one of Qatar's trusted partners, providing human resources and services for development of Qatar's economy and infrastructure, under HH the Amir’s Vision 2030. As a result, over 260,000 strong Pakistani community in Qatar has been part of this process, particularly during the past 12 years. This includes businessmen, high-level professionals, skilled and semi-skilled workers. Similarly, Pakistan has been the recipient of Qatari investment in various fields, including oil and gas, real estate, and financial services.

He congratulated Qatar on the successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022. This was a monumental achievement, and the world witnessed Qatar's hospitality, professionalism, and dedication to delivering a spectacular event. FIFA 2022 has been internationally recognized as a great achievement in its own way, and as an unprecedented sporting event in the world.

He said that Pakistan and its people are particularly proud of the beautiful and convincing manner in which the Qatari leadership and government showcased Islam’s great message of peace, tolerance and humanity to the rest of the world during this event. This is an unprecedented and highly regarded gesture that has now convinced all those who visited Qatar during FIFA World Cup 2022, to return to Doha once again.

The envoy said that Pakistan is proud to have played a small but significant role in Qatar's journey towards hosting this historic event. Pakistan was an active partner at every stage of the mega event particularly in the infrastructure development that included construction of iconic Qatari stadiums; provision of fool-proof on-land and sea-ward security during the event, with active participation of our armed forces; as well as in providing volunteers from the large Pakistani community. Building on this success, we look forward to working with our Qatari partners for all the future mega events here.

He said that the Pakistani community in Qatar has also made valuable contributions to Qatar's economy, society, and culture. We appreciate the support and hospitality extended to them by the people and government of Qatar, year after year. The Embassy of Pakistan in Doha is committed to providing all possible support to our very vibrant community members, and in ensuring their well-being.

He highlighted the Embassy’s drive towards digitization, which allowed to better inform the community and enhance the efficiency of operations. Our goal is to provide and educate our community with updated and accurate information on various areas, from labour to education and from guidelines on starting a business here to understanding Qatar’s main focus areas under Vision 2030.

He thanked the sponsors of the evening for making the event possible, including Al Wakeel Group; United Bank Limited and HADICO Trading and Contracting.