Doha, 25 August 2022 (QT)

By Ashraf Siddiqui

Pakistan has immense potential to meet the food security needs of the region and beyond, said State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar.

Khar was in the delegation accompanying Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif on a two-day official visit to Qatar.

Talking to Qatar Tribune, she said the agriculture sector of Pakistan used to be a fruit basket for the region, “but now we have become importer of many agro products”. “We want to change that and for that large investment is required. I think the government has presented three major areas during discussions with Qatari leadership in which possible investments scenario can be built up and there is keen interest on both the sides in these areas,” she said.

“These sectors include primarily renewable energy, the agriculture sector, which traditionally has been a strong base of Pakistan and then there is IT and IT services sector, where Pakistan posted a 300 percent growth. “Within these sectors, I believe there is lot of interest on both sides to work together. The important thing is to have long-term policy, long-term view, and ideas should be sustainable, with good returns that will make them a win-win deal for both the sides,” she said.

She expressed hope that the plans would come to realisation. Qatar’s officials have shown willingness to invest $3 billion in various commercial and investment sectors, she said, stressing that the bilateral investment relations will further boost the close relations between the two countries.

Khar said more than 200,000 Pakistanis are working in Qatar and they have played a great role in the development and growth of their host country. “Pakistani expatriates have been serving in Qatar for the last seven decades and have always been enjoying great respect and trust due to their professionalism and hard work; many of them are placed in senior positions too,” she said.

The Pakistani minister stressed that, in order to meet human resources requirements of Qatar, important for its economic expansion, Pakistan is ready to fill this gap and this topic was also part of the agenda discussed with the Qatari authorities.

Khar, has served earlier as Minister of State for Economic Affairs from 2003 to 2007, Minister of State for Finance from 2008 to 2011, and Foreign Minister from 2011 to 2013.

She is a graduate of Lahore University of Management and Sciences with a BSc in Economics and Masters in Management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA.