External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be in Qatar this week on a three-day official tour and will review bilateral trade, investment, energy, security, cultural and political relations in his meetings with Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
“EAM’s visit will enable both sides to review various aspects of bilateral relations, including political, trade, investment, energy, security, cultural, and people-to-people, as well as the regional and international issues of mutual interest,” per an official release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Jaishankar’s visit to Qatar, from December 30 to January 1, follows his six-day visit to the US where he held discussions with the outgoing Joe Biden administration and members of the transition team of president-elect Donald Trump.
In September this year, Jaishankar and Al Thani met in Saudi Arabia where they discussed bilateral ties and regional developments.
India-Qatar cooperation in diverse sectors has been steadily growing in a framework provided by historically close ties and regular and substantive engagement, including at the highest levels of the two governments, per a government note.
Bilateral trade between India and Qatar stands at about $14 billion per annum with India’s exports at $1.7 billion and its imports, primarily petroleum, at $12.3 billion in 2023-24. Mutual investments between the two countries have continued to increase and both sides also share strong partnership in the energy sector.
There are over 835,000 Indian nationals residing in Qatar as on December 2023.
