“It gives me great pleasure to be present here in Doha as the charge d’affaires of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and to be witnessing the National Day of Qatar on December 18, 2018. On this auspicious occasion, I would like to congratulate His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the government and the people of Qatar.
“I believe that bilateral relations between the brotherly states of Pakistan and Qatar are based on strong foundations of mutual respect, common religious heritage and new strategic and emerging commercial realities. I am sure that these bilateral relations will further enhance with the ever increasing bilateral trade between our countries.
“Under the National Vision 2030 of His Highness the Amir, Qatar is achieving great strides both locally and internationally and has shown immense foresight and worked on bringing self-reliance to Qatar. The Government of Pakistan and its people are ready to assist Qatar in successfully achieving self-reliance. With the opening of the new shipping lanes between the two countries the two-way trade has increased to 70.5% amounting to $89.9mn from $52mn in the post blockade period. I am confident that bilateral trade between our countries will further increase in the coming years and Pakistan will be able to cater for Qatar’s food security requirements and also provide a reliable long term supply chain to Qatar.”
“Regarding resolution of disputes, Pakistan believes in amicable resolution of issues. Like in our case, Pakistan believes in dialogue with India over our core issues. Similarly, we believe that Gulf crisis can only be resolved when all stakeholders come on the table and mutually resolve their issues.
“I am looking forward to working with my Qatari colleagues in all spheres to enhance the bilateral relations to another level.
“On behalf of the government and the people of Pakistan I pray for the bright future, progress and prosperity of Qatar”.
Murad Baseer
