Indian and Qatari officials discussed avenues to deepen the bilateral relationship in areas such as renewable energy, fin-tech, start-ups and technology during the  5th Round of Foreign Office Consultations on Sunday.

The FOC was co-Chaired by Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and Ahmad Hassen Al-Hammadi, Secretary General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the State of Qatar.

“During the FOCs both sides comprehensively reviewed the entire gamut of India-Qatar bilateral relations, including high-level exchanges, trade, investment, energy, education, culture and people-to-people ties,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The officials also exchanged perspectives on important regional and global issues of mutual interest.

“India and Qatar share close historical and multifaceted relations. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Qatar in February 2024 and met with Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,”read the MEA statement.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar visited Doha on June 30, 2024 and held talks with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

Bilateral trade between India and Qatar stands at about USD 14 billion per annum and mutual investments between the two countries have continued to increase.

Both sides also share strong partnership in the energy sector.

“The presence of a large Indian community in Qatar is a testament to the strong people-to-people ties,” MEA said.

MEA said the discussions held today will contribute towards further strengthening of the India-Qatar bilateral partnership.

Both sides agreed to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations in New Delhi at a mutually convenient date.