Students of Indian schools performing a cultural programme at Doha Sherton Hotel yesterday.
India’s exports to Qatar increased 87 percent in 2017-18, said Ambassador of India, P Kumaran while addressing a grand reception to celebrate 70th Republic Day of India yesterday at Sheraton Hotel.
“Two new direct shipping lines were established between Qatar and Indian ports in 2017 which have facilitated strengthening of trade links substantially resulting in an increase of over 87 percent in India’s exports to Qatar in 2017-18,” said the Ambassador.
The event was attended by Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti; Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, H E Yousef bin Mohammed Al Othman Fakhro; Qatar Chamber Vice-Chairman, Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari; Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chief of Protocol Ibrahim Yousif Abdulah Fakhro; a number of ambassadors, diplomats and large number of members of Indian expatriate community.
Ambassador of India cut a cake to mark the 70th Republic Day of India. National anthems of Qatar and India were played. Students of MES Indian School, Ideal Indian School and Pearl School performed colorful cultural programs and sang patriotic songs.
Addressing the event, the Ambassador said that there are 24 fully-owned Indian companies and an estimated 6000 Qatar-India joint ventures operating in various sectors of the Qatari economy, underlining the depth of our economic links.
“India greatly values Qatar’s vital partnership in the energy sector,” the Ambassador said, adding, “We deeply appreciate the role played by Qatar as a reliable and dependable source of energy to meet the growing demands of India,” he added.
He said that cooperation in cultural and youth affairs is another important dimension of bilateral relationship between two countries. 2019 is being celebrated as the Qatar-India Year of Culture.
“Our partners are Qatar Museums, Ministry of Culture and Sports, Qatar National Tourism Council, Katara Cultural Village, and a number of other relevant agencies in Qatar.”
The Ambassador said: “We look forward to organizing a series of cultural events during the course of the year, to showcase the deep cultural roots and people-to-people links between India and Qatar.”
“We are already off to a flying-start, with several fashion shows by prominent Indian designers, and impressive musical-performances by Indian artists, since the beginning of the year.”
He said that the forthcoming events, starting with the opening ceremony at Katara on February 4, will continue to cover a wide range of activities, including dance performances, musical presentations, film festivals, painting and photography exhibitions, food festivals, fashion shows, calligraphy exhibitions, textile exhibitions and yoga. “The Embassy will be working closely with Indian community organizations in the coming months,” said the Ambassador.
“We welcome the recent policy reforms announced by the Government of Qatar, to protect the rights of expatriate workers,” said the Ambassador adding that these initiatives indicate Qatar’s willingness to address labour issues in a constructive manner. “We look forward to the full implementation of these reforms, so that our blue-collared workers can benefit from them,” he added.
He said that India retained its position as the world’s fastest-growing large economy in 2018. This year, the Indian economy is poised to become the world’s fifth-largest in absolute terms. overtaking the United Kingdom.
“In the last four years, we have jumped 65 places in the global ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking, moving from 142 in 2014, to 77 now. Our target is to be in the top 50 by next year,” said the Ambassador. He said that India will be the largest source of university graduates by 2020 .
