Jaishankar will be in Qatar from December 30 to January 1, when he will meet the Prime Minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the external affairs ministry said on Sunday.

The visit will enable the two sides to review various aspects of bilateral relations, including political, trade, investment, energy, security, cultural, and people-to-people ties, and regional and international issues, the ministry said.

Jaishankar will travel to Qatar after a six-day visit to the US, where he met officials of the outgoing Joe Biden administration and members of the transition team of president-elect Donald Trump.

This will be Jaishankar’s second visit to Qatar since the two sides resolved an imbroglio last year over eight former Indian Navy personnel who were detained in the West Asian country, reportedly on charges of espionage, and sentenced to death.

The Qatari government released the eight men, after they were given lengthy prison sentences when their death sentences were commuted.

The former naval personnel, employed by a private company called Dahra Global that provided training and other services to Qatar’s armed forces, were detained in August 2022 on undeclared charges and spent months in solitary confinement before being sentenced to death in 2023. Following an appeal, their death sentences were commuted.

Seven of the men returned to India, while one of them continues to be in Qatar. The external affairs ministry has said he is expected to return after the completion of certain formalities.

India’s bilateral trade with Qatar in 2023-24 was worth $14.08 billion. India’s exports to Qatar during this period were valued at $1.7 billion and its imports were worth $12.38 billion. Qatar’s main exports to India include LNG, LPG, chemicals, fertilisers, plastics and aluminium articles, while India’s key exports include cereals, vegetables, fruits, processed food products, electrical and other machinery, iron and steel articles and construction materials. In 2023, India was among Qatar’s top three export destinations, China and South Korea being the other two.

Qatar is also home to 830,000 Indians, who make up the largest expatriate community and are engaged in a wide range of professions, including medicine, engineering, education, finance, and business. A large number of the Indians are blue collar workers.