Qatar Amir becomes first Arab leader to visit Nepal as Doha and Kathmandu sign agreements

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani praised the Nepalese community in Doha during his trip to Kathmandu on Tuesday, the first Arab leader to visit the South Asian country.

“His Highness praised the Nepalese community residing in the State of Qatar and its contribution to the development of several fields in the country,” the Amiri Diwan said in a statement.

Sheikh Tamim had landed in Nepal on Tuesday, marking the last stop of his Asian tour that included the Philippines and Bangladesh.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani praised the Nepalese community in Doha during his trip to Kathmandu on Tuesday, the first Arab leader to visit the South Asian country.

“His Highness praised the Nepalese community residing in the State of Qatar and its contribution to the development of several fields in the country,” the Amiri Diwan said in a statement.

Sheikh Tamim had landed in Nepal on Tuesday, marking the last stop of his Asian tour that included the Philippines and Bangladesh.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani praised the Nepalese community in Doha during his trip to Kathmandu on Tuesday, the first Arab leader to visit the South Asian country.

“His Highness praised the Nepalese community residing in the State of Qatar and its contribution to the development of several fields in the country,” the Amiri Diwan said in a statement.

Sheikh Tamim had landed in Nepal on Tuesday, marking the last stop of his Asian tour that included the Philippines and Bangladesh.

A third was regarding cooperation in the field of youth and sports, a fourth was on the field of culture and arts between Qatar’s Ministry of Culture and Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

The fifth MoU was on cooperation in the field of diplomatic training and education between Qatar’s Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nepal’s Institute of Foreign Affairs.

Both sides also renewed one MoU between the Qatar Chamber and the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce.

Qatar-Nepal ties

Qatar and Nepal’s ties date back to 1977, with about 400,000 Nepalese working and living in the Gulf country. Both countries have shared an air service agreement since 2002.

In 2005, Qatar and Nepal signed an agreement over the protection and promotion of the interests of the workers in Doha. The agreement included additional protocol in 2008.

Workers from Nepal have also played a crucial role in the 2022 FIFA World Cup preparations through their years-long efforts in the construction sector.

Since 2019, Kathmandu has hosted a Qatari Visa Center to facilitate measures to bring Nepalese workers to Doha. 

Speaking to QNA on Saturday, the chairperson of the Qatar Chamber, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Thani, said the amir’s visit to Kathmandu “would open new prospects for the existing bilateral cooperation, pushing forward the trade and investment exchange and cooperation.”

“The bilateral trade exchange is still at modest levels despite the two sides’ cooperation under bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding across multiple sectors such as agriculture, food security, tourism, and others,” Sheikh Khalifa said.

Qatar’s Amir begins three-stop Asia tour

“There is a common desire to step up the trade volume by ramping up mutual investments and stimulating the private sector in the two countries to build trade alliances and partnerships,” he noted.

Nepal’s ambassador to Qatar Naresh Bikram Dhakal told QNA on Tuesday that trade, investment, energy, tourism, information technology, and infrastructure development are areas of priority for both sides.

Kathmandu’s main exports to Doha include cloth, magnetic storage discs, and vegetables among others. Nepal’s main imports from the Gulf country include polyethene, polypropylene, and food products. 

Nepal is also known for its environmental richness, with many Qatari climbers often heading to the country to summit Mount Everest.

Investments aside, Doha also led major developmental and humanitarian projects in Nepal, with aid from the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) amounting to (around $4.5 million).

QFFD had provided Nepal with vital COVID-19 assistance in the wake of the pandemic with medical equipment worth around QAR 7 million ($1.9 million).

The Qatari entity also implemented educational projects that benefited at least 159,211 out-of-school children globally, including in Nepal.