The relations between Qatar and India are set to get further boost as the foreign ministers of the two old allies are expected to hold a high level meeting in mid of this year. The foreign ministers will be meeting during the first Qatar-India Joint Commission, said Ambassador of India to Qatar, H E Dr. Deepak Mittal.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and External Affairs Minister of India, H E Dr. S Jaishankar during their meeting in Doha last month decided to hold the first meeting of Qatar-India Joint Commission led by two foreign ministers in India by middle of this year,” said the ambassador in a press conference held yesterday. The Ambassador said that now both sides are working to finalise mutually convenient date for the meeting of joint commission.
Speaking about the evacuation of Doha-based Indian students stuck in Ukraine, the Ambassador said that almost all students have moved from conflict zone to safe places.
“About 20 students, whose parents are based in Qatar, were stuck in Ukraine. I am happy to say that almost all of them have moved out of the Kharkiv area. Seven students have already moved out of Ukraine to neighbouring countries such as Poland, Romania and Hungary,” he said.
“According to our information, only one student is still in the conflict area. We are coordinating to ensure his safe evacuation from the conflict zone.”
The Embassy is in touch with the parents and is providing them necessary assistance to bring them back safely, he said.
“We are very confident that we would be able to move everyone out. The government of India is committed to bring back its all citizens from Ukraine safely,” he added.
Talking about the progress in bilateral trade, the envoy said that Qatar-India trade volume reached to $10.3bn during the nine months (from April to December) of last year.
“The trade volume is largely in Qatar’s favour almost $9bn of export from Qatar mainly energy hydrocarbon/gas. About $1.3bn is export from India to Qatar,” he said. The robust growth in bilateral trade is witnessed despite COVID-19 pandemic. “We aim to enhance further trade between two countries in coming years. Apart from trade we have seen growth in bilateral investments from both sides,” he added.
According to the envoy, the number of Indian companies in Qatar Financial Center increased significantly. As many as 35 new companies registered totaling almost 150 registered companies. About 30 Indian companies are also registered at Qatar Free Zone Authority.
“We are also seeing great interests from Qatar into India. Since March 2020, foreign direct investment from Qatar to India increased in five folds. We agreed last year to set up a working group between trade and commerce ministries to realize full potential of bilateral trade and economic cooperation,” he said.
