Doha: HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's Asia tour will beef up Qatar's cooperation relations with Asia across economic, trade and investment areas, said HE Chairperson of the Qatar Chamber (QC), Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Thani. His Excellency said that HH the Amir's visits to the Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh are driven by a Qatari approach to push forward its relations and partnerships across Asia - part of a broader strategy to boost the common interests of the State of Qatar and its Asian partners. Highlighting the existing multi-sector Doha-Manila relations, His Excellency said that HH the Amir's visit to the Philippines would definitely bolster relations with the Philippines and open new horizons for bilateral cooperation and partnerships, especially across the trade and economic areas. The trade relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of the Philippines have remarkably grown in recent years, with the total trade between the two countries reaching QAR 732 million in 20 23. His Excellency attributed this growth to the key contributions of Qatari and Filipino private sectors via building commercial partnerships and alliances, urging businesses in both countries to capitalize on foreign investment promotion policies in the two countries, and to seize the opportunities available to launch joint projects that would send bilateral trade volume even higher. His Excellency highlighted the QC's support to cement cooperation between Qatari and Filipino firms across all sectors, especially with Qatari businessmen seeking to explore the investment opportunities in the Philippines. He added that the Philippines is a leading investment destination and provides viable investment opportunities. His Excellency hailed the Filipino workers working in various sectors of the Qatari market. HH the Amir will also stop in Nepal with which the State of Qatar has developed powerful multi-field relations, especially at the economic and trade areas. His Excellency said that His Highnesss visit to Katmandu would open new prospects for the existing bilateral cooperation, pushing forward the trade and investment exchange and cooperation and partnership relations between the business sectors of the two countries. His Excellency added that the bilateral trader 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. Yet, 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, His Excellency added. Qatari business owners are keen to explore the investment opportunities in Nepal, especially in the promising areas of tourism, food security and animal production, His Excellency noted. Moving to the manpower cooperation between the two sides, His Excellency hailed the Qatar-based Nepalese workers' major contribution to urban renais sance across the country. Meanwhile, His Excellency elaborated that HH the Amir's visit to the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh would add more momentum to the bilateral good relations and open broader horizons for bilateral cooperation across all fields, especially in the economic and trade areas, and increase the trade exchange volume. The trade exchange volume between both countries surged to roughly QAR 7.8 billion in 2023 from QAR 2.4 billion in 2018, a more than 200-percent growth primarily ascribed to the key role of private sectors in both countries. His Excellency highlighted that Qatar is the main LNG supplier to Bangladesh to support the South Asian nation's energy needs in its quest for greater economic development. In January 2024, QatarEnergy and US-based Excelerate Energy inked a long-term deal under which Bangladesh would receive 1 million metric tons per year (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 15 years from January 2026. Highlighting the QC's support for establishing commercial allian ces between Qatari and Bangladeshi firms and bolstering the trade exchange, His Excellency said that Qatari businesses are keen to explore investment opportunities in Bangladesh as a an investment-attractive destination. In return, His Excellency affirmed that Bangladeshi businesses are welcomed in the Qatari market which offers advanced infrastructure and robust legislative structure for investments. Source: Qatar News Agency