New Delhi: Qatar is the third country to which S Jaishankar will be making a bilateral visit less than a month after assuming office as the External Affairs Minister for a second time. According to a short statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry on Saturday, Jaishankar will visit the Gulf nation on June 30 during which he will meet 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,” the statement read.
Soon after assuming office as the External Affairs Minister earlier this month, Jaishankar made his first bilateral visit to Sri Lanka. Thereafter, he made his second bilateral visit during his new term in office to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The fact that he is visiting a second Gulf nation less than a month after assuming office signifies the importance New Delhi attaches to the countries in India’s extended neighbourhood to the west. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a surprise visit to Qatar following an official trip to the UAE in February this year.
It is pertinent to note that Jaishankar’s upcoming visit on Sunday comes amidst Qatar’s offer to sell India a dozen used Mirage 2000 fighter jets. The visit also comes after India and Qatar held the first meeting of the Joint Task Force on Investment (JTFI) on June 6 this year.
The bilateral relationship between India and Qatar has largely been characterised by cooperation and shared interests. India-Qatar cooperation in diverse sectors has been steadily growing in an excellent framework provided by historically close ties and regular and substantive engagement, including at the highest levels of the two governments. The large, diverse, accomplished and highly regarded Indian community, numbering over 8,50,000, is making an important contribution to Qatar’s progress and in nurturing the bonds of deep-rooted friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries.
Following Modi’s visit to Qatar in February this year, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra highlighted the importance of India-Qatar bilateral cooperation.
“There are several segments of our bilateral cooperation that are important, significant and growing,” Kwatra had said while briefing the media. “First is the bilateral trade, which is roughly standing at close to $20 billion. Two is the strong investment cooperation that India and Qatar already have. Three… a very strong and vibrant Indian diaspora based and living in Qatar. And four, of course, the multi-faceted partnership in the field of energy, which includes energy trade as also other segments of energy supply chain contributing to a stronger partnership in the field of energy security.”
Energy cooperation: Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India (10.74 MMT for $8.32 billion in FY 2022-23), accounting for over 48 per cent of India’s global LNG imports. Qatar is also India’s largest supplier of LPG (5.33 MMT for $4.04 billion in FY 2022-23) accounting for 29 per cent of India’s total LPG imports. Besides LNG, India also imports ethylene, propylene, ammonia, urea and polyethene from Qatar.
A long-term contract LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement was signed on February 6, 2024, during the visit of Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs Engineer Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi to India to participate in the India Energy Week 2024. The deal stipulates a 7.5 MMTPA supply by Qatar Energy to Petronet LNG for 20 years starting in 2028.
Bilateral trade and investments: India’s bilateral trade with Qatar in 2022-23 was $18.77 billion, according to figures shared by the Department of Commerce. India’s export to Qatar during 2022-23 was $1.96 billion and India’s import from Qatar was $16.8 billion. Apart from LNG, LPG, chemicals and petrochemicals, Qatar’s key exports to India include plastics, and aluminium items, while India’s key exports to Qatar include cereals, copper articles, iron and steel articles, vegetables, fruits, spices, and processed food products, electrical and other machinery, plastic products, construction material, textiles and garments, chemicals, precious stones and rubber. India is among the top three largest export destinations for Qatar (China and Japan being the other two) and is also among the top three sources of Qatar’s imports, along with China and the US.
According to the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI), there are over 15,000 big and small Indian companies operating in Qatar, wholly owned and joint ventures. Indian companies are today pursuing collaborations in various sectors like infrastructure, communications and information technology, energy and other areas in Qatar.
The June 6 meeting of the JTFI “reaffirmed the commitment of both the nations to strengthen bilateral relations and to leverage the collective potential for accelerated growth, investment opportunities and synergistic collaboration across diverse sectors ranging from infrastructure and energy to technology and innovation”, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.
The idea behind forming the JTFI was to attract investments from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf nation, into India and explore potential Qatari investments across India’s entire energy value chain.
In January 2019, QIA invested $200 million through a primary equity Issuance in Bharti Airtel’s arm Airtel Africa. In July of the same year, BYJU’s Edutech firm received an investment of $150 million led by QIA. In February 2020, QIA invested about $450 million for a 25.1 per cent stake in a unit of Adani Transmission Limited. The deal includes a subordinated debt investment by QIA, according to the filing, which said the two sides have signed a definitive agreement.
In February 2021, QIA invested $100 million in Verse Innovation, the parent company of vernacular news aggregator Dailyhunt and maker of short video entertainment app Josh, along with Glade Brook Capital Partners. In April of the same year, QIA along with other investors (GIC of Singapore, Falcon Edge, Amansa Capital, Think Investments, Carmignac and Goldman Sachs) invested $800 million in Swiggy’s. In October 2021, QIA, along with other investors (Coatue Management and Evolvence India), invested $175 million in Rebel Foods.
In February 2022, QIA announced its financial support of $1.5 billion to the investment firm Bodhi Tree. In July of that year, Bodhi Tree Systems invested $600 million in the Indian test prep business Allen Career Institute for a 36 per cent stake. In April of that year, Bodhi Tree Systems, along with a consortium of investors invested Rs 13,500 crore in Viacom 18.
In August 2023, QIA announced its plan to invest approximately $1 billion into Reliance Retail Ventures, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. It was also reported that QIA has acquired about 2.5 per cent stake in Adani Green Energy for about $480 million. In September 2023, QIA, in collaboration with Grosvenor Property, invested $393 million in IndoSpace Logistics Parks IV.
Defence cooperation: An important pillar of the India-Qatar bilateral agenda is defence cooperation. India offers training slots in its defence institutions to many partner countries, including Qatar. India 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 the bilateral cooperation and interaction. The India-Qatar Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed during then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Qatar in November 2008, was further extended for five years in November 2018. The agreement is implemented through the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC).
What will be of interest during Jaishankar’s upcoming visit to Doha will be Qatar’s offer to sell a dozen used Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to India. According to reports, Qatar is offering the 12 Mirage-2000-5 aircraft for about Rs 5,000 crore, but India is keen to get the aircraft for flying operations at a more reasonable price.
Discussions were held between the Indian side and a visiting Qatari team earlier this month, news agency ANI reported citing defence sources. Giving a presentation, the Qatari team said that the aircraft were in very good condition and had a lot of life left in them. The Indian side is considering the proposal keeping in mind the compatibility of the Qatari aircraft and India’s own Mirage 2000 aircraft fleet which are more advanced.
“However, the engines of both the Indian and Qatari aircraft are the same and it would be easier for the service to maintain them if India decides to go for them,” the ANI report stated.
Challenges in bilateral ties: The relationship between India and Qatar has, however, not been without hiccups. A significant challenge in the India-Qatar relationship is related to the treatment and conditions of the Indian expatriate workforce in Qatar. While Qatar has made progress in labour reform, there have been concerns about the welfare of Indian migrant workers, including issues related to working conditions, wages, and access to legal protection. India has often raised concerns about the rights and well-being of its citizens working in Qatar, leading to diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis complicated India’s relations with other Gulf Arab countries. The Saudi Arabia-led bloc’s closure of sea, land and air borders with Qatar appeared to pose two challenges for Delhi: how to maintain trade relations with Qatar; and how to ensure the evacuation from Qatar of the massive number of Indian migrant workers should the situation further deteriorate. An additional concern at the time was that Saudi Arabia and the UAE might turn the boycott of Qatar into a global issue, which, at least theoretically, could have entailed their demanding that India suspend ties with Qatar indefinitely or risk retaliation. In the end, though, the perceived ill effects never materialised. After New Delhi initially placed a hold on export shipments to Qatar, normal trade flows between the two countries resumed.
Then, in June 2022, a controversy involving derogatory remarks about the Prophet on a TV show led to tension between India and Qatar. Qatar demanded a public apology. India addressed the issue and the individual concerned was swiftly expelled from the political party she was affiliated to.
Then, in October last year, a court in Qatar sentenced eight former Indian naval officers to death for alleged espionage activities. However, following Modi’s visit in February this year, the death sentence was revoked and all eight officers were released. While seven of them have since returned to India, one is still stuck in Qatar ostensibly due to travel permission issues.
Cooperation in regional and global issues: India and Qatar support each other’s candidatures for various UN bodies, promoting peace and development. Both nations participate in global climate discussions, emphasising sustainable development and renewable energy.
Given its size, Qatar is known to punch way above its weight in regional and global issues. It is currently playing a key role as a mediator between Israel and the Palestine militant group Hamas as the war in Gaza rages on. Qatar also plays host to meetings between the Afghan Taliban and other global powers. So, it is in New Delhi’s interest to keep engaging with Doha.
