External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S. Jaishankar will embark on an official visit to the State of Qatar from December 30, 2024, to January 1, 2025. During his trip, Dr. Jaishankar is scheduled to meet with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, to discuss and strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
India and Qatar today have a good relationship across various sections of trade, economy, and so on. Besides, Dr. Jaishankar's talks are supposed to cover a multitude of topics ranging from political to trade, investment, energy, security, and even cultural ties. The countries are also likely to report for people-to-people contacts, which touched a new level due to the remarkable Indian diaspora in Qatar.
This visit will also open the doors to discuss the positions of both sides on regional and global matters pertinent to each other. As an essential Gulf country, Qatar plays a significant role in global issues, thus relating India's growing relationship with it to the increased strategic partnerships in the Middle East.
The visit continues the high-level engagements between India and Qatar. Therefore, it will further strengthen bilateral ties and bring some fresh opportunities to collaborate significantly. India is an enthusiastic nation when nurturing ties to Gulf nations, as is exemplified by this visit, with EAM Dr. Jaishankar serving this critical nation in India's foreign policy.
Earlier on December 7, S Jaishankar met the Qatari PM and held "productive" talks on bilateral relations and developments in Gaza and Syria. Jaishankar was visiting Doha to participate in the Doha Forum at the invitation of Al Thani, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to that, the official visit, taking up to three days, also touches on the way of fostering significant economic and trade relations, underscoring the enormous investment that each country maintains in the other's economies. Long and much older countries with historical ties, such as India and Qatar, have long existed as nations. Hence, trade and investment continue to frame the other foundations of the relations, which each country considers as pillars of cooperation.
