Jaishankar to Visit Qatar Today; Energy and Trade Topics on the Agenda
India and Qatar's trade and energy relations are strengthening, with Qatar being India's largest supplier of LNG, providing over 48% of India's total LNG imports.
Following his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will travel to Qatar today. There, he is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, according to a Ministry of External Affairs statement.
The statement, issued Saturday, noted that Jaishankar’s visit will offer an opportunity for both nations to review various aspects of their bilateral relations, including politics, trade, investment, energy, security, cultural exchanges, and regional and international issues of mutual interest. Discussions are also expected to cover the situation in Gaza.
Jaishankar's trip to Qatar is his third foreign visit since taking office for the second time. Last week, he visited Sri Lanka and the UAE, highlighting the importance of India's neighboring regions and its strategic and economic interests in the Gulf, which is home to a large Indian diaspora.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Qatar from February 14-15, where he met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Modi's visit followed Qatar's release of eight former Indian Navy personnel who had been sentenced to death on espionage charges in August 2022; seven of these individuals have since returned to India.
In December, Modi and the Qatari Emir discussed the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar during a meeting at the COP28 Summit in Dubai.