Qatar-India trade to go beyond energy co-operation

The Dollar Business Bureau India and Qatar inked six key agreements on Wednesday, as Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, held talks with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, as a part of his two-day visit to India. The six key pacts include a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoU) in the field of Information and Communication Technology, scientific cooperation, diplomatic relations, among others. Under the scientific and technical cooperation, a MoU has been signed between the Ministry of Earth Sciences and Qatar Meteorological Department. As a process of enhancing the diplomatic and strategic relations, both the sides also entered into agreement, where a MoU has been signed between Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar and Foreign Service Institute, Ministry of External Affairs, India. For enhancement of cooperation in the field of media and communication, the two sides signed a MoU for cooperation in the field of Radio and Television and also agreed for Mutual Cooperation and Exchange of News. Besides these, both the sides also agreed upon bilateral transfer of sentenced prisoners of both the countries, as a process of helping the prisoners towards social rehabilitation. Ahead of his meet with the Indian Prime Minister, Qatar’s premier was said to have expressed the State of Qatar’s willingness to significantly invest and further its trade relations with India beyond energy ties, as a part of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Recently on March 22, 2015, Milaha Maritime & Logistics, a subsidiary of the Qatar-based Milaha Group which delivers integrated transport and supply chain solutions in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, launched first direct container service between Qatar and India. According to an official news agency, the Qatari maritime and logistics company Milaha had said that the direct shipments between Doha Port and Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port will boost bilateral trade between Qatar and India. Unlike existing services, the new weekly service is also expected to enable direct shipments between Nhava Sheva and Doha without the need for transshipment in Jebel Ali in Dubai or elsewhere, thus increasing reliability and reducing transit time and costs.  

This article was published on March 25, 2015.