Dhaka, 25 October 2022:

H.E. Seraya Ali Mahdi Saeed Al Qahtani, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Bangladesh paid a courtesy call on with the Hon’ble Foreign Minister H. E. Dr. AK Abdul Momen, MP, today at his office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka. Hon’ble Foreign Minister welcomed the Ambassador in his office and exchanged views on various bilateral issues of mutual interests.  

At the outset, Hon’ble Foreign Minister welcomed the Ambassador in his office and expressed satisfaction at the state of excellent bilateral engagements between Bangladesh and Qatar in various fields including political, economic, defense, manpower and trade.  He thanked Qatar for hosting the Second Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in Doha last month adding that the FOC took up for discussion many pertinent issues of our interests including recruitment of manpower including doctors, nurses, engineers, and technicians to Qatar, enhancing the current ‘quota of supply’ of LNG to Bangladesh, Bangladesh’s willingness to contribute to Qatar’s food security through direct supply of food grains and agro-products, enhancing bilateral trade and Qatari investment in SEZs and Hi-tech Parks of Bangladesh and a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis.

The Qatari Ambassador responded that Qatar side was satisfied at the outcome of the FOC and both sides were working on the arrangement of the exchange of high level visit between the two countries’ leadership. The Ambassador stated that His Highness the Emir of Qatar was very keen on developing bilateral relations to new heights and he has accepted the invitation from the Hon’ble President of Bangladesh to undertake a visit to Dhaka after the World Cup Tournament. He handed over the official acceptance letter from Qatari Emir to the Hon’ble Foreign Minister for onward transmission to the Hon’ble President.  The Qatari Ambassador also gifted a replica of the World Cup-2022 Trophy to the Hon’ble Foreign Minister.

Recalling his old memories in Qatar and with Qatari leadership, the Foreign Minister appreciated the social-economic developments that took place in Qatar during the last two decades and Qatar’s rapid progress in transforming itself to a modern, developed and forward-looking country. The Minister also expressed gratitude to Qatar for hosting a large numbers of our nationals in Qatar who have been contributing to the socio-economic development of the two countries. He stated that Bangladesh Government has set up 100 Special Economic Zones where Qatari investors could invest and urged the Ambassador to explore the opportunity to invest in various sectors including the LNG and Power sector. In reply, the Envoy commended Bangladesh’s quest for development and peace in its strides for economic emancipation under the capable and courageous leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister.

Hon’ble Foreign Minister also appreciated the Qatari leadership for the country’s smart preparedness in hosting the World Cup Tournament in Doha in coming November this year. He expressed hope that the two countries would engage efforts in making the upcoming high level visit successful.  The Envoy conveyed his eagerness to work more closely with Bangladesh side in the coming days. He handed over a replica of the World Cup Tournament to the Foreign Minister.