Energy and military cooperation lead the talks of the Prime Minister of Pakistan in Qatar

Emad Mourad - Doha

Qatari-Pakistani bilateral relations appear to be in new stages of progress after Prime Minister Amran Khan's visit to Doha, his first since taking office in August. The two-way trade figures that have doubled over the past two years show their insistence on Greater economic relations.

The bilateral relations between the two countries and the situation in the region were present on the agenda of the Pakistani visitor during his meeting with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and a number of Qatari officials.

On Tuesday, the two sides discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially investment, energy, food security and military cooperation, and exchanged views on current regional and international issues.

Pakistan, which took a middle position on the Qatar blockade in June 2017, has long established strong military ties with Qatar. The two countries signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding to strengthen military cooperation, the most important being the 2010 Defense Cooperation Agreement and the Agreement on the Assignment of Armed Forces Pakistan to Qatar in 1985.

In March, the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces and the Pakistani Navy carried out "One Sea Lion" exercises in the territorial waters of Qatar. The joint exercise included training in methods and methods of breaking ships, defending oil and gas fields and combating maritime piracy and smuggling.

The current visit to Amran Khan also aims, according to Pakistani sources, to discuss some points of the long-term agreement on the import of liquefied natural gas from Qatar.

In early 2016, Qatar and Pakistan signed a 15-year agreement to import 1.3 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year, with the potential to increase to 2.3 million tons, worth $ 15 billion.

Economic leap
Trade figures between the two countries show a big jump in economic relations. Trade exchanges, which did not exceed 200 million dollars in 2014, reached 106 billion dollars in 2018, an increase of 104 percent compared to 2016, which reached 782 million dollars.

The Qatar-Pakistan Business Forum, hosted by Pakistan last year, has helped to strengthen cooperation between business owners from both countries and has contributed to the knowledge of investment opportunities available in Qatar. In both sides.

With the beginning of the blockade, Qatar launched a direct shipping line between the two countries, which boosted the movement of exports and imports between them, with Pakistani exports to Qatar growing by 70%.

Qatar's exports to Pakistan are oil, hydrocarbons, oil, mineral oil, and ethylene polymers in their primary forms, while Qatari imports from Pakistan are clothing, accessories, textiles, vegetables and fruits.

Amran's visit to Doha will include a meeting with the Pakistani community at Al Wakra Stadium to learn about the situation of Pakistan's estimated 190,000 people.