Mamnoon lauds defence ties with Qatar

Says Pakistan is equipped to meet Doha’s demands for military equipment

DOHA: President Mamnoon Hussain on Sunday discussed the prospects of defence cooperation between Pakistan and Qatar with the country’s Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohammad al Attiyah.

The minister of state expressed his country’s keenness to purchase defence equipment and hardware from Pakistan and lauded the services of Pakistani defence personnel in the Qatari armed forces.

He said Pakistan was very close to his heart and Doha desired to enhance relations with strategic depth.



“Qatar is keen to have joint ventures with Pakistan in the area of defence production,” the minister added.

Echoing similar sentiments, the president said that Pakistan too attached great importance to its close and cordial relations with Qatar. He also added 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 new heights.

Mamnoon said the exchange of defence delegations and interaction strengthened the bonds of friendship between the two brotherly countries and Pakistan looked forward to having positive outcomes from the Qatari minister’s visit to Pakistan scheduled from October 27-28.

He informed Dr Khalid bin Mohammad that Pakistan had developed state of the art defence production facilities and could cater to Qatar’s growing need in military equipment and hardware.

President Mamnoon noted with appreciation the recent deal between the two countries on the sale of Super Mushshak aircraft by Pakistan to Qatar.



Separately, the president met Pakistani youth and urged them to equip themselves with the latest knowledge and fast evolving technologies like computers, internet, smart phones, etc.

“The invention of the internet has changed this world and when you will take the rein of affairs, it would have changed completely, confining into a small device (cell phone) which all of us are carrying in our hands today,” he told students at the Pakistan Education Centre (PEC), a school run by the Pakistan Embassy in Qatar.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2016.