India-Qatar Business Forum

In News 

• Recently, the Vice President of India  highlighted the strength of India-Qatar ties and called for building an enabling environment and forging more collaborations for mutual benefit. 

About India-Qatar Business Forum

• It was jointly organised by FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM, along with Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
• Leading businessmen from both India and Qatar participated in the Business Forum.
• The Forum will result in new networking opportunities for trade and investment between both sides.

Major Points 

• The two leaders reviewed the bilateral ties between the two countries in trade, investment, economic and security cooperation.
• The Vice President of India launched the India-Qatar Start-Up bridge, a joint initiative that aims to link the start-up ecosystems of the two countries and help their economies mutually.
•  The Indian government has been improving the ease of doing business and pointed out that even during the pandemic in 2021, more than 25 thousand compliances were eliminated. 
• A Joint Business Council between Business Chambers of India and Qatar has been established and a Joint Task Force on Investments would take its work forward. 

India-Qatar Bilateral Relations

• Multi-faceted cooperation
  • India-Qatar cooperation in diverse sectors has been steadily growing in an  excellent framework provided by historically close ties and regular and substantive engagement, including at the highest levels of the two Governments.
  • The large, diverse, accomplished and highly regarded Indian community is making an important  contribution to Qatar’s progress and in nurturing the bonds of deep-rooted friendship  and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries

• Commercial & Investment Relations
  • India-Qatar has touched a new milestone of US$ 15 billion in 2021-22 and there has been a steady increase in the number of registered Indian businesses in Qatar which has crossed 15,000. 
  •  Qatar’s FDI in India is in excess of USD 450 million and there is great potential for increasing these investments.
  • Qatar’s key exports to India include LNG, LPG, chemicals and  petrochemicals, plastics, and aluminium articles.
  • India’s key exports to Qatar  include cereals, copper articles, iron and steel articles, vegetables, fruits, spices, and  processed food products, electrical and other machinery, plastic products, construction  material, textiles & garments, chemicals, precious stones and rubber.

• Covid cooperation
  • Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) sent Covid medical relief material to  India for combating the second wave of Covid-19 by a special Amiri Air force plane. 
  • Qatar  Airways transported medical aid from across the globe to India, free of charge.  

• Defence
  • Defence cooperation is an important pillar of our bilateral agenda.
  •  India offers  training slots in its defence institutions to a number of partner countries, including  Qatar. 
  • India regularly participates in the biennial Doha International Maritime Defence  Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) in Qatar.
  •  Indian Naval and Coast Guard ships regularly visit Qatar as part of our bilateral cooperation and interaction. 
  • India-Qatar Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed during the PM’s visit to Qatar in November 2008, 

• Cultural Relations
  • Cultural ties between India and Qatar are deep-rooted and actively nurtured by  both sides. There are regular cultural exchanges between the two sides, under the  provisions of the Agreement on Cultural Cooperation signed between the two sides in  2012. 
  • Qataris admire India’s cultural diversity

• Indian Community   : There are over 700,000 Indian nationals residing in Qatar.
  • They comprise the largest expatriate community in Qatar and are engaged in a wide spectrum of  professions including medicine; engineering; education, finance; banking; business;  and media apart from a large number of blue-collared workers. 

Source:PIB