On the evening of October 30 (local time), the official plane carrying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation landed at Doha International Airport, signaling the start of official activities in Qatar.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, spouse, and high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrive at Doha International Airport (Photo: Nhat Bac).

After concluding a successful visit to Saudi Arabia for the 8th Future Investment Initiative Summit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, alongside his spouse and delegation, embarked on the official visit to Qatar at the invitation of Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

At the airport to welcome the Prime Minister, his spouse, and the Vietnamese delegation were Qatar’s Minister of State Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed, Chief of Protocol at Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Yousuf Abdullah Fakhro, Vietnamese Ambassador to Qatar Nguyen Huy Hiep, Embassy staff, and members of the Vietnamese community in Qatar.

In this final leg of his Middle East tour, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is set to engage in a series of official activities in Qatar.

Beyond the official welcome ceremony and talks with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, the Prime Minister will also hold meetings with senior leaders and several Qatari officials.

He will further connect with the Vietnamese expatriate community and meet with Qatari investors and major business leaders to encourage stronger trade and investment cooperation.

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This marks the first official visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Qatar in 15 years (Photo: Nhat Bac)

This is the first official visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Qatar in 15 years. Qatar and the broader Gulf region represent significant potential for expanded cooperation with Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Qatar is of particular importance, marking a pivotal moment that aims to initiate a new phase in Vietnam-Qatar relations, especially in terms of attracting investment from Qatar into Vietnam and increasing the market access for Vietnamese goods and services in Qatar and the Middle East.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Qatar signifies a key step in fostering bilateral relations (Photo: Nhat Bac)

Vietnam and Qatar established diplomatic relations in 1993. Over the past 30 years, ties between the two nations have seen steady growth.

Between 2019 and 2023, bilateral trade averaged $400 million per year. In 2023, two-way trade reached $497 million, a 32% increase from 2022, with Vietnam exporting goods worth $211.6 million to Qatar. Vietnam’s exports to Qatar include seafood, electrical cables, wood products, rattan items, ceramics, vegetables, and electronic goods, while its imports primarily consist of liquefied gas, plastic raw materials, chemicals, and urea.

Currently, Qatar has one investment project in Vietnam within the processing and manufacturing industry, with a registered capital of $3.23 million.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) also engages in indirect investments in Vietnam through development banks and third-party investment funds, supporting projects in real estate and industry with a total capital of approximately $500 million.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s state-owned Petroleum Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) has secured contracts to supply equipment, design services, and labor to Qatar’s North Oil Company from 2019 to 2025.

With one of the world’s highest per capita incomes, Qatar is a key economic player with strong potential for collaboration. Known as the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Qatar’s economy is predominantly fueled by the oil and gas sectors, which contribute approximately 85% of export revenues.

To diversify its economy, Qatar is actively developing its non-oil sectors, including chemicals, fertilizers, steel, aluminum, and, particularly, services such as aviation, seaports, banking, education, healthcare, and tourism.

Thu Hang