ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said on Sunday that the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait have accepted his invitation to visit Pakistan, as Islamabad looks to increase foreign trade and investment from allies to escape a macroeconomic crisis.
Sharif separately met the ambassadors of Qatar and Kuwait to Pakistan on Sunday during which matters relating to bilateral relations, trade and cooperation were discussed.
During the meetings, the ambassadors of both countries presented letters from their emirs addressed to Sharif which conveyed they had accepted his invitation to visit Pakistan.
“Visits by the emirs of Kuwait and Qatar to Pakistan will prove effective in increasing investment and cooperation further with Qatar and Kuwait,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
In his meeting with Kuwait’s Ambassador to Pakistan Abdulrahman Jasser Al-Mutairi, Sharif recalled his recent meeting with Kuwait’s emir at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh in April.
“The prime minister expressed satisfaction that the next meeting of the Pakistan-Kuwait Joint Ministerial Commission will be held from May 28-30 in Kuwait,” the PMO said.
Sharif also met Qatar’s envoy Mubarak Ali Essa Al-Khater in which he said Islamabad values its “historic brotherly relations” with Doha and reiterated Pakistan’s determination to increase mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, the PMO said.
The Pakistani premier said both countries should start preparing for the Qatari emir’s visit by exchanging delegations to ensure the visit becomes a productive and successful one.
This development takes place amid a flurry of foreign visits in recent weeks to Pakistan. These included visits by the now deceased Iranian president, the Saudi foreign minister, a delegation of top Saudi companies as well as officials from Qatar, China, Japan, Turkiye and Central Asian countries, among others.
Reeling from high inflation, low forex reserves, and an unstable currency, Sharif has vowed to steer Pakistan out of its prolonged economic crisis by enhancing bilateral trade with allies and attracting more international investments. This week, Sharif met UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who committed to investing $10 billion in multiple sectors of Pakistan.
Islamabad is also currently in talks with the IMF to secure a new, longer-term bailout package of at least $6 billion to stave off a chronic balance of payment crisis.
