Kathmandu, April 23: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, is arriving today on a two-day State Visit at the friendly invitation of President Ramchandra Paudel.

It is expected that the visit of the Qatari Emir on the eve of the third Investment Summit in Nepal would give a positive message about Nepal in the international community.

The cabinet meeting on April 18 had approved the programme of state-visit of the Qatari Emir, agreed on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ leading the Nepali delegation for bilateral discussions with the Qatari delegation and MoU for cooperation for various bilateral agreements to be inked during the Qatari Emir’s two-day visit.

Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, the council of ministers has already approved the MoU for cooperation between Nepal and Qatar on youth and sports sector as well as education and scientific research.

Nepal and Qatar established diplomatic relations on January 21 in 1977. Nepal established its Embassy in Doha, Qatar on July 11, 2000 where as Qatar set up its Embassy in Nepal in August 2011.

Before that, Qatari Ambassador resident in New Delhi, India was concurrently accredited to Nepal.

Nepal and Qatar are both uphold similar views on many international agendas and issues. Both countries have been signatory to the Non-Aligned Movement and are members of the United Nations. 

Similarly, both countries have been working in tandem at these international forums and have been playing crucial roles for the cause of peace, security and development n the world.

Agreements have been inked for collaboration between the two countries in several sectors. Nepal had signed a Labour Agreement with Qatar on March 21, 2005 during the visit of then Minister for Foreign Affairs Ramesh Nath Pandey’s visit to Qatar.

The Fourth Labour Ministerial Joint Meeting of the two countries held on December 2 and 3, 2021 in Kathmandu agreed to review the Labour Agreement signed in 2005. However, the Agreement has not been reviewed so far.

The two countries also in 2005 signed an agreement related to economic, trade and technical collaboration.

The Qatari investors have put in investment in the agriculture, infrastructure, and energy among the various sectors after Nepal in 2007 inked an agreement with Qatar for removal of dual taxation.

Similarly, Nepal and Qatar signed an agreement on bilateral air service (civil aviation) on July 8, 2002. An agreement on collaboration in the tourism sector was reached between the two countries in 2011.  

The private sectors of the two countries have also been collaborating in different areas. Nepal Chamber of Commerce and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce had signed an agreement relating to bilateral cooperation in 2018.

The Doha Bank, one of the major banks of Qatar, opened its contact office in Kathmandu in December 2018.

Nepal’s industrialists have also become organized in Qatar. An organisation called Nepali Business Association Qatar was registered with the Qatar Financial Authority in March 2021.

There have been exchanges of high-level visits between Nepal and Qatar at various times. The first President of Nepal, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, made an official visit to Qatar in 2011. Likewise, then President Bidya Devi Bhandari paid a state visit to Qatar from October 30 to November 2, 2018.

The then Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Krishna Kumar Shrestha, visited Qatar on March 21-23, 2022. The then Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel visited Qatar from November 20 to 22, 2019. Then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Krishna Bahadur Mahara also visited Qatar from April 6 to 10 in 2019. 

The then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population, Upendra Yadav paid a visit to Qatar on November 13-14, 2018. 

The then Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat paid an official visit to Qatar in January 2017 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Qatar.

Similarly, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam visited Qatar from April 11 to 14, 2015.

The high-level visits to Nepal from Qatari side include the visit of Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Qatar, Dr Abdullah Bin Saleh Mubarak al-Khulafi from April 4 to 7 in 2015; the visit by Qatar’s Environment Minister Abdullah Bin Mubarak Bin Abud Al-Midhadi from April 5-9 in 2012 and that of Qatar’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shekh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Al Thani in 2009. (RSS)