In the context of the growing friendship and good relations between Qatar and Malaysia, the Prime Minister of Malaysia H E Dr. Mahathir Mohamad arrived to the country yesterday on an official visit. Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will meet him today at the Amiri Diwan to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries.
H H the Amir and H E the Malaysian Prime Minister also will witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding on establishment of joint high committee between the two countries, and will exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern.
It is expected that this visit, discussions and the agreements that will be signed, will contribute to strengthening relations between tQatar and Malaysia pushing them towards broader prospects, especially in the fields of economy, commerce and investment.
Qatar -Malaysia witness a growing development in many sectors, and they are characterized by strength and mutual brotherly cooperation in various political, economic and commercial fields over the past 45 years.
The diplomatic ties between Qatar and Malaysia began in 1974 at the level of a non-resident ambassador. The embassy of the Kingdom of Malaysia in Doha was officially opened in 2004, and the embassy of the State of Qatar was opened months later in Kuala Lumpur.
Bilateral relations have witnessed many mutual visits and talks at the highest levels between the leaders of the two countries, ministers, government officials and private sector officials, the most notable example is the visit of the Father Amir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani to Malaysia in 2009 and the visit of the King of the Kingdom of Malaysia at that time Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin to the State of Qatar in 2010.
The Qatari-Malaysian relations culminated in several historical visits by H H the Amir to Malaysia in 2015 and 2017, the last of which was in December 2018 that opened the doors to developing relations between the two countries and pushing them to a wider strategic level, especially in the economic, commercial exchange, investment opportunities and human and social development fields, in a way that serves the common interests of the two countries and two brotherly peoples.
The two countries are linked to a set of agreements and memoranda of understanding that regulate their relations in many areas such as avoiding double taxation and preventing financial evasion, economic, technical, cultural and media cooperation, and an agreement between Qatar News Agency and the Malaysian News Agency, in addition to memoranda of understanding on cooperation in the field of training diplomats, higher education, legal cooperation activities, and judicial cooperation.
In last October, the second session of the Qatari-Malaysian Joint Trade Committee was held in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari chaired the Qatari delegation there.
The future of Qatari-Malaysian cooperation is promising in light of the economic potential of both countries, which will bolster bilateral trade that reached $291 million in the first half of 2019, HE the Minister said.
Al-Kuwari hailed Malaysian companies for contributing to strengthening bilateral economic relations, noting that over 85 Malaysian companies, are currently operating in Qatar.
