Photo: PID
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani left Dhaka after a state visit of about 22 hours; As he expressed the hope of strengthening bilateral relations before leaving, 10 agreements and understandings were signed between the two countries on trade and investment in his presence.
Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud saw him off at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport around 3 pm on Tuesday.
At that time, Minister of State for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Chief Secretary to Prime Minister Tofazzal Hossain Mia and other officials were present.
The Emir of Qatar arrived in Dhaka around 5 pm on Monday. When he arrived at Shahjalal International Airport in a special plane, he was welcomed by the President. Sahabuddin.
The office of the Emir of Qatar said that Sheikh Tamim went to Kathmandu in Nepal on another official visit from Dhaka.
Sheikh Tamim said in a post on microblogging site X about the visit to Dhaka that the visit to Bangladesh and President Md. He is ‘delighted’ to have a meeting with Sahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“During the meeting we discussed all aspects of fruitful cooperation between the two countries and opportunities to accelerate this cooperation through further bilateral partnership in many other areas.”
On the last day of the visit, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim held a private meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in Tezgaon on Tuesday morning and then a bilateral meeting.
After that, in their presence, five agreements and five memorandums of understanding were signed between the two countries to promote cooperation in various fields including investment, employment, port management.
At the signing ceremony, it was announced that the park to be built on Balur field in Mirpur’s Kalshi and the road from Mirpur ECB premises to Kalshi flyover are being named after the Emir of Qatar.
Later, President Md. Bangabhaban. The Qatari head of state had a courtesy meeting with Sahabuddin. He then attended the lunch hosted by the President.
President Sahabuddin urged Qatari investors to invest in Bangladesh’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
State-owned news agency BASS reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, National Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan, members of the Council of Ministers, advisers and some eminent persons participated in the feast. A cultural program was also organized in honor of the Emir of Qatar.
Qatar is known as an influential country in the Middle East due to its geopolitical location and diplomatic presence. This Arab country is one of the labor markets of Bangladesh; Where about 4 lakh Bangladeshis are working. Oil and gas-rich Qatar is also an important source of energy for Bangladesh.
Due to these reasons, the government sees the visit of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim as an ‘investment opportunity’. Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud had already said that a proposal will be made to the Emir of Qatar to make an economic zone in Bangladesh in a bilateral meeting.
This is the first high-level state visit from any Middle Eastern country after Awami League formed the government for the fourth consecutive term under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
And this is the first visit of any Emir of Qatar to Bangladesh in the last two decades. Finally in 2005 the then Emir of Qatar Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani came to Bangladesh.
