Doha, 17 July 2023(TDI): Pakistan’s Ambassador to Qatar, Aejaz Muhemmed, met with the Chief Executive Officer of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC), Yousuf Al-Jaida, in Doha for in-depth strategic talks on strengthening bilateral economic ties.
As head of Qatar’s leading financial hub, CEO Al-Jaida is instrumental in advancing the Gulf region’s economic interests and expanding Qatar’s global financial reach.
During their extensive discussions, Ambassador Muhemmed and Al-Jaida mapped out potential collaborations. These collaborations aim to help high-potential Pakistani tech companies gain a foothold in Qatar’s thriving financial ecosystem.
Proposals covered Qatar-Pakistan startup mentoring programs. They also included dedicated funding pools for Pakistani fintech entrepreneurs through Qatar’s sovereign wealth. Additionally, there was a focus on outreach to link financial institutions in both countries.
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With Pakistan’s tech ecosystem booming, these partnerships could catalyze win-win opportunities.
Ambassador Muhemmed noted that Qatar hosts a Pakistani community estimated at over 200,000 people. Additionally, he emphasized Pakistan’s enduring friendship with Qatar. He highlighted the opportunity to forge even tighter enterprise linkages between the countries.
This strategic engagement demonstrates both nations’ commitment to elevating bilateral economic relations to new heights in the coming years. As influential leaders, Ambassador Muhemmed and CEO Al-Jaida steer their countries’ financial sectors.
They agreed on the potential for greatly expanded two-way business linkages. These business linkages are between Qatari and Pakistani companies across industries.
Ideas discussed spanned reciprocal trade missions, eased regulations for joint ventures, and financial technology partnerships.
Qatar as Top Economic Partner for Pakistan
Pakistan and Qatar established diplomatic relations in the 1970s and have developed strong ties across multiple spheres including politics, trade, culture and education over the decades. Specifically, Qatar has emerged as a top economic partner for Pakistan, with bilateral trade exceeding USD 4.8 billion in 2021.
Overall, this monumental high-level diplomatic meeting sets the stage to unlock the full possibilities of economic engagement between the two nations. With strong political ties firmly in place, Pakistan and Qatar now look to take their relationship and technology partnership to new peaks through growing trade, investment and tech flows.
Bilateral trade has exceeded $2 billion with over 1,400 joint companies now operating in diverse sectors, reflecting growing commercial links. Recently, Qatar announced $3 billion in deposits and investments to support Pakistan’s economy, further highlighting the significance of bilateral economic relations.
