How does one feeling if they are obtained by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the flight terminal? Ask Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, that was obtained by the PM on Monday (February 17) as he landed in the nation for a two-day state go to throughout which he will certainly fulfill President Droupadi Murmu and hold talks with Modi.
On Monday, PM Modi damaged recognized standards by directly inviting Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani at the New Delhi flight terminal. This notes the emir’s 2nd see to the nation– his initial remained in March 2015.
As both leaders get ready for their talks today (February 18), we take a closer check out why India-Qatar connections issue and what this go to indicates for New Delhi.
A cozy welcome for ‘brother’
On Monday (February 17), the Qatar emir showed up in the nation for a two-day state go to on the invite ofNew Delhi At the flight terminal, he was accorded a cozy welcome with PM Narendra Modi likewise existing to get him.
Posting on X, the PM created, “Went to the airport to welcome my brother, Emir of Qatar H H Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Wishing him a fruitful stay in India and looking forward to our meeting tomorrow.
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.@TamimBinHamad pic.twitter.com/seReF2N26V
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 17, 2025
On arrival, the Qatar emir was also welcomed by artists who put on a show for him.
Besides PM Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was also present at the airport to welcome Al-Thani. Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called the visit a “special gesture for a special friend.”
Qatar emir’s 2-day state go to
Al-Thani’s see to India, which started on Monday (Feb 17), will certainly concentrate on profession, financial investment, power and modern technology. Upon arrival, he held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
“Honoured to call on H H @TamimBinHamad, emir of Qatar on his arrival in New Delhi for a state visit. Value his guidance on advancing our cooperation in many domains. Confident that his talks with PM @narendramodi tomorrow will deepen our close bonds of friendship,” Jaishankar claimed in a blog post on X.
On Tuesday, the Emir of Qatar will certainly be accorded a ritualistic welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, adhered to by his conference with Modi at theHyderabad House The talks in between both leaders will certainly cover numerous facets of the reciprocal relationships, the MEA claimed.
An exchange of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) is set up for Tuesday mid-day, after which the emir of Qatar will certainly fulfill Murmu, according to the advisory.
Significance of Qatar emir’s see to India
Al-Thani’s see to India is of wonderful relevance– the Qatar-India connection, which stayed fairly stationary for years, has actually significantly enhanced in current times. This remains in sync with India’s plan of magnifying involvement with the expanded West Asian area and safeguarding its power protection demands.
Today, profession in between both countries stands at about $20 billion. Qatar’s vital exports to India consist of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Piped Gas (LPG), chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics and light weight aluminum. In truth, Qatar is the biggest provider of LNG to India, it made up over 48 percent of every one of India’s LNG imports in 2022-2023. Similarly, the West Asian country is likewise India’s biggest provider of LPG, making up 29 percent of India’s complete LPG imports.
On the various other hand, India’s vital exports to Qatar consist of grains, copper write-ups, iron and steel write-ups, veggies, fruits, flavors, refined foodstuff, electric and various other equipment, plastic items, building and construction product, fabrics and garments, chemicals, jewels and rubber.
However, both India and Qatar are eager to increase their profession basket and check out brand-new locations of teamwork in markets such as renewable resource, fintech, start-ups, and modern technology.
Trade isn’t the only facet of India-Qatar’s connections. The 2 nations share solid protection connections. India supplies training ports in its protection organizations to a variety of companion nations, consisting ofQatar India likewise consistently takes part in the biennial Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) inQatar Indian Naval and Coast Guard ships consistently go to Qatar as component of reciprocal teamwork and communication.
There’s likewise a social facet to India-Qatar connections. Indians comprise the biggest expatriate neighborhood in Qatar– a projected 8.4 lakh Indians live there– appealing in a broad range of occupations consisting of medication; design; education and learning, financing; financial; service and media in addition to a multitude of blue-collared employees. In enhancement, roughly 15,000 Indian firms, varying from tiny business to huge firms, run in Qatar, with an advancing financial investment of $450 million.
However, there’s one pending issue on person-to-person connections in between both countries– the return of one previous marine employees. In August 2022,
8 ex-spouse-Navy employees were apprehended in Doha on costs of reconnaissance and originally handed the death penalty. Following Delhi’s treatment, the death penalty was travelled on December 28, 2023, and
7 of them were launched to India last February.
Qatar has actually likewise presumed higher relevance in the protection of West Asia– it has actually played a vital duty as a.
moderator in between Israel and the Palestine militant teamHamas Moreover, Qatar likewise plays host to conferences in between the Taliban and various other international powers. In current times, though not providing official acknowledgment to the Taliban regimen,.
New Delhi has actually been involving with the Taliban taking into account local and financial factors to consider.
As Harsh V Pant, teacher of International Relations with King’s India Institute at King’s College London and Vice-President (Studies and Foreign Policy) at the Observer Research Foundation brain trust, was estimated as claiming, “As India progresses towards reaching out to the Taliban, Qatar may convey the views of the Taliban to New Delhi.”
With inputs from firms