In a rare gesture, Modi receives Amir of Qatar at Delhi airport

PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Monday (17) evening went to the airport to receive Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who arrived in New Delhi on a two-day visit to India.

"Went to the airport to welcome my brother, Amir of Qatar H H Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Wishing him a fruitful stay in India and looking forward to our meeting tomorrow," the prime minister said in a post on X on Monday.

His visit comes at the invitation of prime minister Modi.

This would be the second state visit of the Amir of Qatar to India. He earlier visited India in March 2015, the MEA earlier said.

India and Qatar have deep-rooted historical ties of friendship, trust and mutual respect.

In recent years, the ties between the two countries, including in the areas of trade, investment, energy, technology, culture and people-to-people ties, have continued to strengthen.

Modi on Tuesday (18) held talks with Amir of Qatar at the Hyderabad House in Delhi, with the MEA saying that a "new milestone" is on the cards for this "special" bilateral partnership.

Earlier in the day, the Amir of Qatar was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as president Droupadi Murmu welcomed the visiting leader.

India and Qatar on Tuesday (18) exchanged an agreement on establishment of strategic partnership between the two countries.

The documents were exchanged in the presence of Modi and Amir of Qatar.

Qatar foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and external affairs minister S Jaishankar exchanged the agreement.

A revised agreement for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, between India and Qatar, was also exchanged.

Prime minister of Qatar and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman exchanged the agreement.

Jaishankar's Oman visit

The foreign minister on Sunday held wide-ranging discussions with his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi on bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and energy security.

Jaishankar, who is in Muscat to attend the 8th Indian Ocean Conference, also met foreign ministers of several other nations, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Brunei on the sidelines of the event and discussed issues related to bilateral ties and regional cooperation.

"Delighted to meet FM @badralbusaidi of Oman this morning. Appreciate his personal efforts in successfully hosting the 8th Indian Ocean Conference," Jaishankar posted on X.

"Held wide-ranging discussions on our cooperation in trade, investment and energy security," he said.

The two leaders jointly released the logo celebrating the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations.  (PTI)