DOHA: Qatari State Minister for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah called on President Mamnoon Hussain on Sunday. During the meeting which was held in a very cordial atmosphere, the two sides discussed in detail the prospects on defence cooperation between the two countries, with the Qatari minister expressing his country’s keenness to buy defence equipment and hardware from Pakistan.
Mamnoon called upon Qatar to enhance quota for Pakistani labourers and relax visa regime for them, as Pakistan could provide unskilled, skilled and high professional manpower in various fields. The president, who is in Doha on a four-day official visit at the invitation of the Emir of Qatar, said Pakistan attached great importance to its close and cordial relations with Qatar and mentioned that relations between the two were based on mutual respect and shared values. He expressed satisfaction over the level of defence cooperation between the two countries and desired to further enhance mutual cooperation to take the relationship to newer heights. The president said the exchange of defence delegations and interaction strengthened the bonds of friendship between the two brotherly countries. He said Pakistan looked forward to have more positive outcome from the scheduled October 27-28 visit of the Qatari minister of state for defence to Pakistan. He informed Dr Khalid bin Mohammad that Pakistan had developed state-of-the-art defence production facilities and could fulfill the growing needs of Qatar, especially in the military equipment and hardware.
