Amir's Asia tour reflects Qatar's openness to global markets, says QBA chairman

Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) Chairman HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani affirmed that the tour of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, to the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Nepal comes within the framework of Qatar's openness to all global markets, including those of the aforementioned countries.HE Sheikh Faisal said in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on this occasion that the three stated countries represent more than 300mn people, making it imperative to co-operate and strengthen relations with them, especially since these relations date back four decades of bilateral co-operation.He explained that trade exchanges with these three countries reached an average of QR9bn over the past five years, with Bangladesh accounting for the lion's share due to its signing of long-term contracts with Qatar for the supply of natural gas, followed by the Philippines with about QR1bn.Sheikh Faisal concluded his statement by saying that the majority of Qatar's exports to these countries relate to energy products in general, in addition to iron and aluminium. Nearly all imports from these countries are handled by the private sector, where clothing of various kinds is supplied from Bangladesh; agricultural products such as bananas, pineapples, and food items from the Philippines, and carpets are imported from Nepal.