Why is the visit of EAM to Qatar vital both economically and strategically?

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Qatar is very important economically as well as strategically as the Gulf region is extremely important for energy security, trade and investment, Diaspora and India also receives more than 50 billion dollar remittances from Qatar, says foreign policy expert and former India’s ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar in an interview to Chandrakala Choudhury, senior reporter of ETV Bharat.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on a two-day official visit to Qatar where besides holding bilateral talk with his counterpart and Qatari Deputy PM, he called on Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and discussed strengthening the economic and security cooperation between the two countries on Monday.

Jaishankar, who arrived in Doha on Sunday for a two-day visit - which is his first to the Gulf nation as the external affairs minister, also handed over a personal communication from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sheikh Tamim.

Many experts say that the visit of the EAM to the gulf country is a significant one as it reflects the long-lasting friendship between the two nations and India’s outreach to West Asia to redefine relations with these countries, more particularly the Arab countries.

UAE and the Saudia Arabia have always been on the good books of India and vice versa.

In 2020, there have been around seven visits to the region which includes- the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Iran and the focus has been on the Diaspora, energy security as well as regional and international issues.

How significant is the visit to Qatar during such an unprecedented time?

In an interview with ETV Bharat, foreign policy expert and former India’s ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar said, “Visit by EAM Jaishankar to Qatar is very important. He had recently visited Bahrain and UAE and Qatar doesn’t have the best of relationships with the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This is an attempt to have good relations across the board with all members of the region”.

The Gulf region is extremely important for energy security, trade and investment, Diaspora because we have got 8 million Indians in Qatar and also India receives more than 50 billion dollar remittances from Qatar, he added.

"Qatar is an important member and it has a small population, only 300,000 Qataris of which 2.3 millions of people are outsiders and Indians are about seven lakh. Relations have been extremely friendly and warm. The visit is important to ensure that the Indian workforce who have been working there and were forced to return because of the pandemic and loss of employment, will be able to return to Qatar", he points out.

Where does India-Qatar relationship fit in strategically and economically, especially when both the nations find itself under Chinse influence?

Sajjanhar says, “As far as strategic issues are concerned, China has been trying to step up its role in West Asian region and also in Qatar, but India has great strength, rather than looking over its back as to what China is doing, it is important to focus on our strength.

India is a large consumer of energy, oil and gas, currently, India is trying to move out from the coal sector to the gas economy and Qatar has the world’s third-largest reserves of gas at about 25 trillion cubic metres.

India is a growing market as its economy is the 5th in the world. By 2030, India will be the third-largest economy, so it is a reliable market for gas, which is important for Qatar. Irrespective of what China does, India has its strength in dealing with the region. These are the strengths that China cannot compete with, so India needs to build on this strength and take the relationship forward."

Bolstering trade ties with Qatar

As far as transportation of gas to India is concerned, India has been talking a great deal about putting a pipeline under the ocean surface but because of technical problems and economic viability of such project, it has been difficult to take it forward.

But discussions have been going on whether the gas in value-added form like conversion into fertilizers and India being an agrarian country will always need fertilizers, whether that can be brought from Qatar.

There are several possibilities and areas in which both countries can work together.

Although the population in Qatar is small it is a rich and developed country with the world’s third-largest per capita GDP. Therefore, India is looking for investments from Qatar into the Indian energy market, Ambassador Sajjanhar told ETV Bharat.

Pertinently, Qatar recently introduced labour reforms which have been adopted for the welfare of the workers.

These measures which include the settlement of labour issues; safe movement and the institutionalisation of rights of workers have been welcomed by India.

This month, PM Modi spoke to Amir Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Investments were the focus of the telephonic talks and the two sides have decided to set up a special task force which will help in facilitating investments by Qatar investment authority into India, especially in the energy sector.

Earlier on Monday, Jaishankar also met Prime Minister Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, who is also the Gulf country’s Interior Minister. The minister thanked him for the care given to the Indian–community in Qatar during COVID-19 and discussed strengthening the bilateral economic and security cooperation between the two nations.

Since the past few years, India has grown closer to the Arab countries. Although India had cordial relations with the Arab countries for decades, in recent times, India has sought to redefine these relations.

In fact, India has always been firm in its diplomacy with the Muslim world in general.