Trade, investment to get priority during Qatar Emir’s Dhaka visit
Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is due in Dhaka on 22 April.
Bangladesh’s priority in this visit of a Qatar emir, after almost two decades, will be on enhancing trade and investment. Apart from the scope of relations between the two countries, the Qatar Emir’s visit is politically significant as well.
Qatar has recently established itself as an important arbitrator among the Middle Eastern countries. The Middle East situation is going to be one of the topics of discussion in Sheikh Tamim’s visit to Dhaka in the backdrop of the recent conflict between Iran and Israel.
A coordination meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s Office on 15 April in preparation for the two-day visit of the Qatar Emir.
With the prime minister’s principal secretary Tofazzal Hossain Mia in the chair, the meeting has finalised how many agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) will be signed.
Acting foreign secretary Md. Nazrul Islam told Prothom Alo that 10 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoU) have been finalised for signing so far during the visit of the Qatar Emir. Generally, such high-level visits involve new additions or subtractions to the list of instruments to be signed.
Sources said that the agreements finalised for signature include promotion of trade and investment, exchange of prisoners, elimination of double taxation and mutual cooperation on customs.
The probable MoUs on the list of signing after the summit meeting include export of manpower from Bangladesh to Qatar, cooperation in religious issues, involvement of Qatari institution Mawani in port management, cooperation in higher education and training of diplomats.
Bangladesh is set to sign a prisoner exchange agreement with Qatar after India and Thailand. Currently, over 100 Bangladeshis have been serving jail sentences in Qatar after being convicted of various crimes. If the prisoner exchange agreement is signed, the convicts will serve the rest of their sentences in the country after returning from Qatar.
A senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Qatar’s port management company Mawani is keen on port management in Bangladesh. In particular, the company wants to manage the port under construction at Matarbari in Maheshkhali. Bangladesh has not yet taken a final decision in this regard. The company, however, will sign an MoU with the Chittagong Port Authority during this visit.
According to diplomatic sources, Bangladesh in March last year signed an MoU with Qatar on defence cooperation, which is yet to be implemented.
The issue of boosting defence cooperation may come up for discussion during the Emir’s coming visit to Dhaka. The members of Bangladesh defence forces are supposed to work in Qatar following the clauses of the MoU.