Qatari Businessmen Association held a Special Dinner in Honor of HE General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan

The ceremony began by a welcome address by Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al-Thani, member of QBA, who briefed the audience about the goals and activities of the association. Sheikh Abdullah also hoped that General Musharraf’s visit will pave the way for the setting up of sustainable joint ventures between Qatar and Pakistan.

In his key-note speech, HE President General Musharraf invited Qatari business community to invest in his country, which was among the top four developing economies in Asia as it achieved an 8% growth rate and an increase of 90% in export in the last five years.

General Musharraf told the Qatari Businessmen that his country lay in a geographically strategic location that enabled it to play a major role in any project. He mentioned that Pakistan offers profitability and political stability that are the two key factors attracting investments.

Highlighting the incentives for investors, the Pakistani President said his country has cheap, but qualified, labor compared with other countries.

General Musharraf said that Pakistan has been witnessing a boom in sectors such as agriculture, IT, telecommunication and banking. He added that five years ago, there were about 600,000 mobile phones in Pakistan, however today, the figure has gone up to 10.5 million.

He concluded that his government plans to enhance co-operation between the private sectors of the two countries. “The gates of Pakistan are widely open for private investors in all sectors,” he said.