The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) held a business lunch in honour of the visiting Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed.The reception at the Renaissance Hotel was attended by members of his accompanying delegation and Malaysia Ambassador to Qatar Ahmad Jazri bin Mohamed Johar.The Qatari officials, lead by QBA chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, included QBA board member Sherida Jubran al-Kaabi and QBA members Khalid Mannai, Siraj al-Baker, Nabil Abu Issa and Tariq Naja, who was present on behalf of Abdul Rida Mashadi, as well as deputy general manager Sarah Abdullah.Both sides discussed bilateral relations between Qatar and Malaysia and spoke of ways to strengthen co-operation in various fields.The Malaysian minister spoke of Qatar as the third largest trade partner for Malaysia in the Gulf region, where the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached $4.43bn. While Malaysia imports from Qatar raw and processed petroleum products along with petrochemicals, Qatar imports electronic products, steel, wood materials, and food products from Malaysia. Dato’ Sri Mohamed said that a shopping mall displaying Malaysian products is currently under construction in Doha.Sheikh Faisal spoke of developed relations between the two countries, stating that the presence of the mutual fund between the two countries with a capital of $2bn will enhance and further support the investment opportunities. Qatari investments in Malaysia include the real estate sector and manufacturing of furniture and Islamic banks and others.Dato’ Sri Mohamed invited QBA members to visit Malaysia to explore investment opportunities and business possibilities in various fields.There are 15 Malaysian companies currently working in Qatar, in infrastructure projects, development and construction. More Malaysian companies are expected to operate in Qatar and participate in the projects related to hosting of the World Cup 2022.