Ambassador of the Republic of India to the State of Qatar H E Dr. Deepak Mittal
Doha: Ambassador of the Republic of India to the State of Qatar H E Dr. Deepak Mittal affirmed the depth of the historical ties between his country and Qatar, stressing that the two countries are keen to raise relations to an advanced level of cooperation and partnership in various fields.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion of the National Day, he said that Qatar and India enjoy historical ties that are based on the strong foundations of close people to people contacts, noting that the leadership of the two countries have nurtured the multifaceted bilateral cooperation.
The Indian Ambassador conveyed congratulations to Qatar on the occasion of the National Day, the anniversary of the founder of Qatar Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, assuming the reins of power in the country. He emphasised that the values and principles of the Founder are still reflected in Qatar till date.
In a way, Sheikh Jassim was the driving force behind expanding trade ties between Qatar and India, back then, stressing that Qatar-India relations have transformed into a multifaceted and a multidimensional relationship encompassing political, trade and commerce, defence, cultural and strong people-to-people ties.
He highly valued the level of support and care enjoyed by the Indian community in Qatar, adding that they have been laying a strong foundation to Qatar-India bilateral relations over years, and has been acting as a living bridge between Qatar and India, facilitating cultural exchange and helping bring the two countries more closer.
The Indian Ambassador pointed out that his country is preparing to host the first Joint Commission Meeting between the two countries at the ministerial level, which would be an opportunity to review the whole gamut of bilateral relations and discuss the way ahead.
He also commended the trade exchange between the two countries, saying that despite COVID-19 challenge, bilateral trade stood at $9.2bn. This year, with economies rebounding on both sides, higher volumes and value are expected , he added.
Qatar, he said, is the largest supplier of LNG to India and there has been a substantial increase in Indias exports (food products, vegetables, pharmaceuticals, steel products and construction materials) to India.
Given the ample number of opportunities provided by India, there is a huge potential for boosting Qatari investments in India be it in energy value chain, technology, infrastructure, agriculture among others, he said. Going further, both India and Qatar aspire to tap the potential of bilateral trade and investment relations to the fullest extent possible, and the task forces on Energy and Investment constituted in December 2020 are working towards this goal, he underlined.
The Ambassador noted that Qatar have also laid emphasis on economic diversification, self-reliance, LNG expansion, improvement in operating conditions in the non-energy economy, among others as part of its National Vision 2030 and developing resilience.
He congratulated the state of Qatar at the highly successful conduct of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, noting that it was one of the first such major events after a long hiatus imposed by the pandemic. He said that the tournament has brought in a new energy and rejuvenation among the people living in Qatar, and prepared them for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which would be the first time the world’s biggest soccer tournament will be hosted in West Asia.
