VISIT TO QATAR FORGES CLOSER BILATERAL RELATIONS, SAYS MALAYSIAN PM NAJIB

FROM AHMAD KAMIL TAHIR
DOHA, May 16 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has
described his two-day visit to Qatar as most meaningful because it had succeeded
in enhancing relations between Malaysia and Qatar.

In addition, he said, the visit had also opened up more opportunities for
Malaysian entrepreneurs and companies to set up joint ventures with their
associates in the Gulf state.

Thanking the Qatar government for the gracious hospitality extended to him
throughout the visit, the Prime Minister said it was a manifestastion of their
determination and desire to forge close 'brotherly' relations with Malaysia.

"The challenge now is for us to translate this desire in the form of
progress which reflects this close relationship later," he told Malaysian
journalists covering his visit here.

Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, arrived in Qatar Saturday and
shortly after their arrival, they were invited by Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh
Hamad Jassim Jabr Al-Thani to his residence for dinner.


"My meeting with the Qatar Prime Minister Saturday night was followed by a
meeting which was most productive, while my courtesy call on the Emir (Emir of
Qatar Sheikh Hamad Khaliffa) today enabled us to have a fruitful discussion," he
said.

At the end of his visit, Najib and his wife left for the United Kingdom for
a two-day visit.