DUSHANBE, February 14, 2014, Asia-Plus – On Thursday February 13, Sharif Said, Chairman of Tajikistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) met with Qatari Ambassador to Tajikistan Ali bin Mubarak Saeed Al-Muhanadi.

According to the CCI press center, the sides exchanged views on state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral economic cooperation between Tajikistan and the State of Qatar.

They noted that Tajikistan and Qatar were currently closely cooperating within the frameworks of regional and international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

In the course of the talks, Sharif Said reportedly informed Qatari diplomat of opportunities of trade and investment cooperation with Tajikistan.  He offered to hold an exhibition of Qatari goods in Tajikistan.

For his part, Ambassador Ali bin Mubarak Saeed Al-Muhanadi noted that Qatari business circles are interested in participating in investment projects in Tajikistan, the CCI press center said.  

Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a sovereign Arab emirate.  Qatar has the world''s third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves in excess of 25 billion barrels which has fueled Qatar to become world''s richest country per capita and achieve the highest human development in the Arab World and 36th highest globally; furthermore, it is recognized as a high income economy by the World Bank and also the 19th most peaceful country in the world.

Qatar reportedly has the highest GDP per capita in the world as of 2012 and approximately 14% of households are dollar millionaires.  It relies heavily on foreign labor to grow its economy, to the extent that migrant workers comprise 94% of the workforce.  The economic growth of Qatar has been almost exclusively based on its petroleum and natural gas industries, which began in 1940.  Qatar is the leading exporter of liquefied natural gas.