Qatar's PM to visit Malaysia to boost cooperation

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabir al-Thani is scheduled to pay an official visit to Malaysia from Dec. 4 to 7, in a bid to strengthen cooperation, Malaysia's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. The objective of the visit is mainly to deepen the relations between the leaders of Qatar and Malaysia, as well as strengthen the bilateral cooperation, especially in trade, investment and tourism, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. According to the statement, Malaysia's total trade with Qatar in 2010 was 1.3 billion ringgit (403.4 million U.S. dollars), down from 3.07 billion ringgit (871.7 million U.S. dollars). For the period of January to September this year, total trade between the two countries amounted to 3.3 billion ringgit (1.09 billion U.S. dollars). Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak invited his Qatari counterpart, who is also holding the Foreign Minister portfolio, to Malaysia during his visit to Qatar earlier this year, and it would be the second time for the Qatari PM to visit Malaysia. During his stay, Sheikh Hamad will attend the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition.