‘Qatar to continue helping Pakistan to meet its energy needs’

ISLAMABAD: Qatar’s ambassador to Pakistan, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Faisel Al Thani on Sunday said that Qatar Petroleum, now known as Qatar Energy, entered into a long-term sale and purchase agreement with the PSO for the supply of up to three million tonnes per annum of the LNG in February this year.

He said Qatar will continue to meet Pakistan’s increasing energy demand since the agreement further extends Qatar’s long-standing LNG supply relationship with Pakistan and highlights the country’s commitment to catering to Pakistan’s LNG requirements.

In a message on the National Day of his country, the ambassador said that Qatar is confident that the exceptional reliability of the LNG supplies will provide the PSO with required flexibility and supply security to fuel Pakistan’s impressive growth.

The ambassador said that Qatar continues to bring the Pakistani manpower to work on various projects and has doubled it since 2020. The opening of Qatar visa centres in Islamabad and Karachi has facilitated the issuance of visas to Pakistanis, the ambassador said, adding that Qatar is keen to diversify prospects of cooperation with Pakistan in the future and the coming days will witness further consolidation and development in the existing cooperation.

The Qatari envoy said that his country proved to be the protector of international peace and security, especially due its efforts for ensuring peace in Afghanistan.

Qatar also proved that it is the capital of global sports by hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, which began last month and providing all the necessary arrangements for this tournament in response to the passion of the people of the Arab region, the envoy added.

He said Qatar is going through an important stage in its comprehensive advancement in relation to the realisation of its national strategies in accordance with vision 2030 in terms of infrastructure investments, development projects, economic diversification, environmental preservation and combating climate change.

He recalled that the Shura Council elections, a landmark event for Qatar and its people, were held this year as Qatar has made a remarkable success in the economic sector in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

He said Qatar is also exploring the opportunities to promote bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in the fields of agriculture, food industries, livestock, tourism and services sectors.

The ambassador said that Qatar continues to provide medical assistance to Pakistan to combat the coronavirus pandemic as Doha was keen from the beginning to assist Pakistan in its efforts against the pandemic.

The launch of the direct shipping line between Karachi port and Hamad port in Doha has greatly helped increase trade engagements between the two countries.

He said that under the leadership of Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar has achieved many unprecedented accomplishments in the process of a comprehensive development in all the areas of life as it anticipates the prospects of a prosperous future and well-being of the homeland and its residents.