India and Qatar on Tuesday elevated their ties to a strategic partnership and agreed to double bilateral trade to almost $30 billion by 2030 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Qatari Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, focused on ways to enhance trade and energy cooperation.
The two leaders met to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues, including the Israel-Hamas conflict, shortly after Sheikh Tamim was accorded a ceremonial welcome by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Modi personally received the Amir on his arrival in Delhi on Monday, signalling the importance attached by India to the bilateral relationship.
Modi said on X that he had a “very productive meeting with my brother”, Sheikh Tamim, who is “committed to a strong India-Qatar friendship”.
He added, “Trade featured prominently in our talks. We want to increase and diversify India-Qatar trade linkages.” The two sides can work closely in energy, technology, healthcare, food processing, pharmaceuticals and green hydrogen, he said.
Besides signing an agreement to upgrade ties, the two sides set a target for doubling annual trade, currently worth $14.08 billion, over the next five years. They also agreed to begin negotiations on a bilateral trade deal and to address market access issues related to trade in goods and services.
The Qatari side made a commitment to invest $10 billion in India. The Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has so far invested about $1.5 billion in the country in sectors such as retail, power, IT and affordable housing.
Modi and Sheikh Tamim held wide-ranging talks at Hyderabad House and decided to focus on trade, investments, energy, technology and food security, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Among the areas identified by the two leaders for potential investments by the Qatar Investment Authority are infrastructure, ports, shipbuilding, renewable energy, food parks, startups, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics.
During their talks at Hyderabad House, Modi and Sheikh Tamim identified areas for potential investments by the Qatar Investment Authority, including infrastructure, ports, shipbuilding, renewable energy, food parks, startups, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics.
The two sides also signed a revised agreement for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion for taxes on income, and five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on economic partnership and cooperation in archives and documentation and youth affairs and sports.
“We already have institutional mechanisms in place and [the] Amir’s visit should lead to further growth in mutual investments,” Arun Chatterjee, secretary (overseas Indian affairs) in the external affairs ministry, told a media briefing.
Modi and Sheikh Tamim also focused on ways to strengthen and broaden the energy partnership, including exploring mutual investments. Qatar is the largest provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to India, supplying 10.91 million metric tonnes of LNG and 4.92 million metric tonnes of LPG in FY 2023-24.
Qatar Energy and Petronet LNG Limited signed an agreement in February 2024 for supply of 7.5 million metric tonnes per annum of LNG to India for 20 years, beginning in 2028.
The Israel-Hamas conflict, the evolving situation in West Asia and the ongoing peace process also figured in the talks between the two leaders. “Both sides conveyed their mutual positions that we have on the Israel-Hamas issue…and we exchanged views,” Chatterjee said.
The strategic partnership agreement, he said, will allow the two sides to deepen cooperation in areas such as trade, energy and security, and facilitate closer collaboration at regional and international forums. India currently has strategic partnerships with four other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council – the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait.
Modi and Sheikh Tamim condemned all forms of terror, including cross-border terrorism, and agreed to enhance information and intelligence sharing and to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement, anti-money laundering, drug-trafficking, cybercrime and other transnational crimes.
Earlier in the day, commerce minister Piyush Goyal and his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, participated in the India-Qatar Business Forum organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Invest India and Invest Qatar signed an MoU on promoting mutual investments on the margins of this meeting.
Goyal said the two sides are working towards balanced trade based on new areas of engagement. “This transition is going to rest on the pillars of sustainability, entrepreneurship, energy and technology,” he said. “We are looking at a new future where we will transition from energy being the hallmark of our trade to new age technologies, whether it is artificial intelligence, internet of things, quantum computing or semiconductors.”
Sheikh Tamim’s visit, his first to India in almost a decade, marked the reset of bilateral ties following strains caused by the incarceration of eight Indian Navy veterans in Qatar two years ago. The eight men, including highly decorated officers, were sentenced to death in 2023 but this was subsequently commuted by a Qatari court.
The men were freed on the orders of the Qatari Amir in February 2024, and this was quickly followed by Modi’s visit to Doha. Seven of the veterans have returned to India, while Commander (retired) Purnendu Tiwari continues to be in Qatar.
The 830,000 Indians living in Qatar form the largest expatriate community and Modi thanked Sheikh Tamim for supporting the community, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Amir appreciated the Indian community’s contributions to the development of Qatar.
Chatterjee noted other matters related to the welfare of Indians figured in the discussions. He said around 600 Indians are currently in Qatari jails and an agreement on transfer of sentenced persons is yet to be ratified by Doha. Qatar’s leadership grants pardons to prisoners from time to time, and 85 Indians were pardoned and released during 2024.