Qatari Emir makes seven-country Asian tour

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani began his seven-country Asian tour yesterday evening, beginning in Pakistan then making stops over two weeks in India, China, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan in the company of a high-powered delegation including six ministers.

Qatari sources told ArabicNews.com that Qatar will provide natural gas to South Korea for 25 years, and that Sheikh Hamad will endorse an agreement with Japan, considered the largest importer of Qatari gas and petroleum.

The sources added that both the Chinese president and his Qatari counterpart will sign a number of agreements including agreements on economics, investment and communications with China.

Pakistan seeks to import gas from Qatar, while the two countries desire to increase trade exchange between them and establish a new basis to push economic relations forward. The Qatari leader's stop in India will include the endorsement of a memorandum of understanding aimed at exchanging views on regional and international issues and an agreement to exchange natural gas.