The tour came after Qatar signed the instrument of accession to the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) during the association's 55th Ministerial Meeting held in the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh.
During the 10-day tour, HE Sheikh Mohamed held 16 meetings with the leaders of these countries, his counterparts, and a number of officials and businessmen.
In Singapore, HE Sheikh Mohamed held meetings with President Halimah Yacob. He also held meetings with Minister of Interior and Law K Shanmugam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education, Dr Mohamed Maliki bin Osman, and Senior Minister (SM) and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean. He also took part in a policy roundtable meeting.
The Singapore president extended her country's thanks to Qatar for its efforts in facilitating the evacuation of civilians from Afghanistan.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance welcomed the Qatar Investment Authority's establishment of its Asian office in Singapore last year. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senior Minister Co-ordinating Minister for National Security of Singapore stressed the importance of the Singapore-Qatar High-Level Joint Committee (HLJC) as a platform to enhance bilateral co-operation.
In Malaysia, King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin al-Mustafa Billah Shah received HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
HE Sheikh Mohamed also met with Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaqoub, Foreign Minister Malaysia Saifuddin Abdullah and Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamed Azmin Ali.
He also held a meeting with several Malaysian businessmen.
The King of Malaysia expressed hope that further Qatari companies will continue investments and expand their businesses in his country, especially in the real estate development sector. He also stressed Malaysia's willingness to co-operate with Qatar in dealing with the post-Covid-19 pandemic through developing vaccines and antiviral drugs and exchanging experiences, research and expertise.
The Malaysian prime minister said his country hopes that the meetings between the two parties will enhance bilateral relations and chart a way forward to address many issues of common concern.
He also stressed that his country and Qatar can develop a strategic framework for food security through cooperation between Baladna Food Industries and FGV Holdings Bhd to develop dairy cows breeding soon in the Malaysian cities of Chuping, Perlis and Pahang.
He also wished Qatar success in hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The Malaysian prime minister also expressed his country's gratefulness to Qatar for the support it offered for the Rohingya refugees in the healthcare sector.
The Malaysian foreign minister described the existing trade relations between the two countries as "very good" and said the two sides remain committed to strengthening them with new investments and activities.
In this regard, he highlighted that Qatar's Baladna joined Malaysia's FGV Integrated Farming Sdn Bhd for the development of the largest dairy company in the region through two sites in Perlis and Pahang.
He said that both sides are required to think of new ways to support bilateral relations amid the daily increasing complexity of international trade.
In Vietnam, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son. The Vietnamese prime minister and the foreign minister underlined the need for co-ordination to successfully organise the activities of the 30th-anniversary celebration of the diplomatic relations in 2023, including the exchanged visits at the entire levels, promoting the cultural and sporting exchange and increasing the shared support in multi-lateral forums, regional and international organisations such as Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) and Asean.
The Vietnamese minister confirmed that his country would provide a conducive environment for the Qatari companies and investment funds to further explore and tap the market. He expressed hope that the number of tourists from Qatar to Vietnam will increase in the future so that the local tourism sector will recover strongly in the post-pandemic era.
In South Korea, President Yoon Suk-yeol received HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. HE Sheikh Mohamed also met with Foreign Minister Park Jin, and National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. During the meeting, the Korean president expressed his country's aspiration to promote relations with Qatar, especially in the energy, technology, and food security spheres.
The Korean president said that the agreement signed Friday by the two sides pertaining to the mutual exemption of entry visa requirements for citizens of the two countries would further strengthen the relations between Qatar and Korea.
He hailed Qatar's mediation efforts, including its role in the signing of the Doha Peace Agreement in Chad, and the participation of politico-military movements in the inclusive sovereign national dialogue, in addition to Qatar's hosting of the indirect talks between the US and the Iran, and the mediation of Qatar between the US and the Afghan Taliban.
During the tour, the promotion of bilateral co-operation between Qatar and the four countries was reviewed in a number of vital fields, particularly investment, energy security, clean energy, food and health security, agriculture, trade, Islamic banking, education, tourism and operationalising the joint committees.
The meetings discussed a wide range of regional and international issues of common interest between Qatar and these countries, especially the developments in the Palestinian occupied territories, Ukraine, Afghanistan, developments of the nuclear deal and the Rohingya refugee crisis.
The tour witnessed the signing of an agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and special passports between the governments of Qatar and Vietnam and an agreement on the mutual exemption from entry visa requirements for citizens of Qatar and Korea.
During the tour, they also discussed the preparations of Qatar to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament.
The tour intended to promote Qatar's relations with the Asian states that occupy a distinguished position in Qatar's foreign policy and strengthen the Asian action at the regional organisations level, including the multi-lateral action.
The discussions that were held during the tour, reflected the strategic position of Asia in the Qatari foreign policy and the common desire to promote bilateral relations since the Asian continent is considered the primary partner to Qatar in the energy market, as a number of its countries have long-term contracts with Qatar for the export of Liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Qatar has distinguished ties with the four Asian countries: Qatar and Singapore share robust and solid ties that extend to more than 30 years, and Singapore represents the distinctive destination for the Qatari investments in financial, insurance and real estate sectors, in which the Qatari investments are estimated at about $3bn.
Malaysia, which has 48 years of fruitful economic co-operation and partnership with Qatar, is a premium destination for Qatari investments in tourism, hospitality, financial, real estate and industrial sectors. More than 40 Malaysian companies are operating in the Qatari market, including five companies wholly owned by the Malaysian side.
The bilateral relations between Qatar and Vietnam are characterised by excellence and close co-operation, and the joint ministerial committee works to enhance economic, trade and technical cooperation between the two countries to achieve common interests. Qatar and Korea combine a basic partnership and constant co-operation, and Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to Korea with long-term contracts. The two countries are working to strengthen trade relations by building prospects for continuous co-operation in the fields of investment.