By K V Prasad
New Delhi. Building upon the strong foundation of bilateral relationship and cooperation that showcases multi-faceted ties, the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought to fore the deep connection of this enduring partnership.
PM Modi’s February 14-15 trip to Doha, at the invitation of the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, underscored the historically close and friendly relations that have expanded to various spheres including high level political exchanges, growing trade and investment between two countries, strengthening of energy partnership, and cooperation in culture and education.
The Doha leg concluded the two-nation tour that began with the visit to UAE.
PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the Amiri Palace and the two leaders held talks across a wide range of issues like economic cooperation, investments, energy partnership, space collaboration, urban infrastructure, civil aviation, cultural bonds and people-to-people ties besides exchange of views on regional and global issues.
“Had a wonderful meeting with HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad. We reviewed the full range of India-Qatar relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation across various sectors. Our nations also look forward to collaborating in futuristic sectors which will benefit our planet”, PM Modi said on his social media handle.
Besides its engagement in areas of energy, investment cooperation and energy security, India and Qatar are exploring expansion across newer areas of fintech, technology innovation, space, education, energy. The idea was to build upon innovation and technology ecosystem, skills and future technology like electric vehicles. The purpose was to expand cooperation across these fields including investment in energy to strengthen the energy security and both countries could strengthen green, renewable energy and supply chains in the field.
Currently, India and Qatar bilateral trade stands at $ 20 billion and the visit focused on consolidating the wide range of partnership across various fields of economic cooperation and build upon the gains following PM Modi’s 2016 visit as also the high-level of exchanges of political leaders. The effort was to take the relations to a strategic level and not view it as transactional.
PM Modi also thanked Amir for taking care of the over 8,00,000 Indian community in the country.
The Amir reciprocated PM Modi’s sentiments and expressed appreciation for India’s role as a valued partner in the Gulf and appreciated the contributions of the Indian community in the development of Qatar and taking part in various international events hosted by the country. Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani hosted a banquet lunch at the Palace in honour of the Prime Minister, who invited the Amir to pay an early visit to India.
Separately, PM Modi met Amir father, affectionately called as Father Amir, His Highness Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and congratulated on his visionary leadership that paved the way for Qatar’s development over the past decades. The two leaders held discussions on India-Qatar relations.
The Sandhurst-educated Shaikh Hamad had assumed power in 1995, and abdicated in 2013 in favour of his son.
The Prime Minister conveyed his appreciation for the insightful observations of Father Amir on regional and global developments.
On his part, Father Amir affirmed that India and Qatar share an unwavering bond, epitomized by mutual trust and cooperation. He also appreciated the role of the Indian community in Qatar’s development and in nourishing the bilateral partnership.
During the visit, PM Modi met the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
The two leaders exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation in sectors such as trade, investment, energy, finance, and technology. They also discussed recent regional developments in West Asia and emphasized the importance of upholding peace and stability in the region and beyond. The visit represents a strategic move to deepen the country’s engagement with key partners in the Gulf region and take it beyond economic cooperation.
