Modi's visit to take India-Qatar ties to higher trajectory: Delhi's envoy

INDIAN ambassador to Qatar Vipul has lauded prime minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Middle Eastern nation on Wednesday (14), his second since assuming the office in 2014 and the first time after 2016.

In a statement, the diplomat said that they were delighted by the Indian PM's visit to Qatar and it generated much excitement among the the Indian expat community in the country. He also said that India and Qatar share historic and friendly ties and Modi's visit would take them to a "higher trajectory".

Relations between India and Qatar have seen a steady expansion in recent years, thanks to substantive engagements between the two nations. Last year, the two nations commemorated 50 years of establishment of their full diplomatic relations. Ties between New Delhi and Doha span across various domains, including political, trade and investment, security, energy, education, technology, sports and others.

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The two countries enjoy bilateral trade worth around $19bn (in 2022-23). The Middle Eastern nation is an important pillar of India’s energy security needs. Recently, QatarEnergy and India's Petronet LNG Ltd. inked a long-term agreement for supply of 7.5 MMTPA LNG for two decades starting 2028.

Qatar also serves as a key foreign direct investment source for India and strong ties between the two countries are illustrated by the fact that more than 200 weekly flights connect the two nations.

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The Indian envoy also said that India-Qatar bilateral ties have several strong pillars, including cultural and people-to-people ties, besides trade, investment and energy partnership.

"We also look forward to further increase in mutual investments. There have been several large investments by QIA into India recently. The recent LNG Agreement between both countries is important for India’s energy security and there are several opportunities for enhancing this pillar including mutual investments in gas infrastructure," he said in the statement.

Speaking about the Indian diaspora in Qatar, Vipul said the Middle Eastern nation is home to over 800,000 Indians and the closeness of the two countries was visible when the Indians in Qatar celebrated its crown victory in the AFC Asian Cup football tournament at home recently. He said the Indian community in Qatar also expressed pride over the country hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Modi's latest visit to Qatar is also significant from the point of view that it took place just days after authorities in Doha released eight former officials of the Indian Navy who were given death sentences (later commuted to jail terms) on charges of espionage.