How does one feel if they are received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the airport? Ask Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who was received by the PM on Monday (February 17) as he landed in the country for a two-day state visit during which he will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold talks with Modi.
On Monday, PM Modi broke established norms by personally welcoming Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani at the New Delhi airport. This marks the emir’s second visit to the country — his first was in March 2015.
As the two leaders prepare for their talks today (February 18), we take a closer look at why India-Qatar ties matter and what this visit means for New Delhi.
On Monday (February 17), the Qatar emir arrived in the country for a two-day state visit on the invitation of New Delhi. At the airport, he was accorded a warm welcome with PM Narendra Modi also present to receive him.
Posting on X, the PM wrote, “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.
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.”
Al-Thani’s visit to India, which began on Monday (Feb 17), will focus on trade, investment, energy and 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 said in a post on X.
On Tuesday, the Emir of Qatar will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, followed by his meeting with Modi at the Hyderabad House. The talks between the two leaders will cover various aspects of the bilateral relations, the MEA said.
An exchange of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, after which the emir of Qatar will meet Murmu, according to the advisory.
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Al-Thani’s visit to India is of great significance —the Qatar-India relationship, which remained relatively stagnant for decades, has vastly improved in recent times. This is in sync with India’s policy of intensifying engagement with the extended West Asian neighbourhood and securing its energy security requirements.
Today, trade between the two nations stands at roughly $20 billion. Qatar’s key exports to India include Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Piped Gas (LPG), chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics and aluminum. In fact, Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, it accounted for over 48 per cent of all of India’s LNG imports in 2022-2023. Similarly, the West Asian nation is also India’s largest supplier of LPG, accounting for 29 per cent of India’s total LPG imports.
On the other hand, India’s key exports to Qatar include cereals, copper articles, iron and steel articles, vegetables, fruits, spices, processed food products, electrical and other machinery, plastic products, construction material, textiles and garments, chemicals, precious stones and rubber.
However, both India and Qatar are keen to expand their trade basket and explore new areas of cooperation in sectors such as renewable energy, fintech, startups, and technology.
Trade isn’t the only aspect of India-Qatar’s ties. The two countries share strong defence ties. India offers training slots in its defence institutions to a number of partner countries, including Qatar. India also regularly participates in the biennial Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) in Qatar. Indian Naval and Coast Guard ships regularly visit Qatar as part of bilateral cooperation and interaction.
There’s also a cultural aspect to India-Qatar ties. Indians make up the largest expatriate community in Qatar — an estimated 8.4 lakh Indians live there — engaging in a wide spectrum of professions including medicine; engineering; education, finance; banking; business and media apart from a large number of blue-collared workers. In addition, approximately 15,000 Indian companies, ranging from small enterprises to large corporations, operate in Qatar, with a cumulative investment of $450 million.
However, there’s one pending matter on person-to-person ties between the two nations — the return of one former naval personnel. In August 2022,
eight ex-Navy personnel were arrested in Doha on charges of espionage and initially handed the death sentence. Following Delhi’s intervention, the death sentence was commuted on December 28, 2023, and
seven of them were released to India last February.
Qatar has also assumed greater significance in the security of West Asia — it has played a key role as a
mediator between Israel and the Palestine militant group Hamas. Moreover, Qatar also plays host to meetings between the Taliban and other global powers. In recent times, though not giving formal recognition to the Taliban regime,
New Delhi has been engaging with the Taliban taking into consideration regional and economic considerations.
As Harsh V Pant, professor 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 think tank, was quoted as saying, “As India progresses towards reaching out to the Taliban, Qatar may convey the views of the Taliban to New Delhi.”
With inputs from agencies
Link to article –
Why PM Modi broke protocol to welcome ‘brother’ emir of Qatar at airport
