55th Asean Day celebrated in Doha

The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Committee in Doha (ACD) marked the 55th anniversary of the union’s establishment in the country on Tuesday, underlining the strong relations between Qatar and Asean.“Although Qatar’s political and socio-cultural relations with Asean as a group is still nascent, its trade with Asean has been robust, and averages at around $10bn annually, with Singapore and Thailand among Qatar’s top trading partners,” Malaysian ambassador and ACD chair Shamzari Shaharan said at an event.The celebration was attended by ambassador Ibrahim Yousif Abdullah Fakhro, chief of protocol, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA); Yusof bin Sultan Yousef Laram, director of the Asian Department; Ali bin Khalfan al-Mansouri, director of International Organisation Department; Dr Hanouf Abdulrahman al-Thani; assistant director of International Organisation Department; ambassadors of the Asean member states in Doha; and members of the Working Group of ACD.“I believe that despite global economic challenges and geopolitical uncertainty, there is prospective economic co-operation to be explored between Asean and Qatar, especially pertaining to enhancing the supply chains that were disrupted due to the Covid-19,” Shaharan said.He added that digital infrastructure, industrial automation, robotics, energy, Islamic finance, tourism, digital manufacturing, and halal industry are some of the many potential areas to be developed for trade and investment between Qatar and Asean.The envoy said Asean’s 670mn population market - the third-largest after China and India with a total combined GDP of more than $3tn - may provide an array of opportunities for Qatar, “as Asean would be on track to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030”. Asean, in line with the celebration’s theme ‘Stronger Together’ this year, looks forward to a more substantive and meaningful engagement with Qatar’s MoFA and the Qatar government to explore practical co-operation under the three pillars: political security, economic and socio-cultural, Shaharan said. According to the ACD chair, the occasion also marks Qatar’s successful accession to the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation in Southeast Asia, which took place on the sideline of the 55th Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phnom Penh on August 3, signed by Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.“The signing of the treaty marked an important milestone for Asean – Qatar relations and reflects Qatar’s commitment to Asean in the coming years. The recent visit by HE Sheikh Mohamed to Asean is seen as a positive development in this aspect too,” he added.