Doha, April 20 (QNA) - HE Qatari Businessmen Association Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al-Thani affirmed that the tour of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Nepal comes within the framework of Qatar's openness to all global markets, including those of the aforementioned countries.

HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al-Thani said in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on this occasion that the three stated countries represent more than 300 million people, making it imperative to cooperate and strengthen relations with them, especially since these relations date back four decades of bilateral cooperation.

He explained that trade exchanges with these three countries reached an average of QR 9 billion over the past five years, with Bangladesh accounting for the lion's share of the trade volume due to its signing of long-term contracts with Qatar for the supply of natural gas, followed by the Philippines with about QR 1 billion.

The Qatari Businessmen Association Chairman concluded his statement to QNA by saying that the majority of Qatar's exports to these countries relate to energy products in general, in addition to iron and aluminum. Nearly all imports from these countries are handled by the private sector, where clothing of various kinds is supplied from Bangladesh, agricultural products such as bananas, pineapples, and food items from the Philippines, and carpets are imported from Nepal. (QNA)