Doha: After concluding his two-nation visit to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed for New Delhi from Doha, thanking the Qatari government for their hospitality and saying he looked forward to scaling up cooperation in key sectors with the country related to trade, investment, technology and culture.
"My visit to Qatar has added new vigour to the India-Qatar friendship. India looks forward to scaling up cooperation in key sectors relating to trade, investment, technology and culture. I thank the Government and people of Qatar for their hospitality," PM Modi said on X.
He will address the 'Viksit Bharat Viksit Rajasthan' programme on February 16 (Friday) and will inaugurate various National Highway projects worth more than Rs 5,000 crore in Rajasthan. On the same day, he will visit Rewari, Haryana to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 9,750 crores concerning urban transport, health, rail and tourism sectors.
PM Modi's visit to Qatar
PM Modi arrived in this Qatari capital city last night after concluding a highly successful two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates. He received a ceremonial welcome and met with the Amir of Qatar, Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Doha on the second day of his official visit to Qatar, where they held wide-ranging discussions on bolstering bilateral relations, with a focus on deepening trade and investment, energy, space, cultural and people-to-people ties.
PM Modi also expressed deep appreciation to the Qatari Amir on the release of eight Indian Navy personnel earlier sentenced to death on espionage charges and invited him to visit India. He also met Qatar's Father Amir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha today, and congratulated him on his visionary leadership that paved the way for Qatar's development over the past decades
Shortly after his arrival, Modi met Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Abdulrahman is Qatar's foreign minister as well, where they exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation in sectors such as trade, investment, energy, finance, and technology. The Qatari PM also hosted a dinner for Narendra Modi after the meeting.
PM Modi's 'successful' visit to UAE
PM Modi received a rousing welcome from the Indian diaspora during his two-day visit to the UAE, where he addressed the World Governments Summit and an Indian diaspora event. He marked a historic moment for the Indian community in New Delhi by inaugurating the BAPS Hindu Temple, Abu Dhabi's first and the largest in the Middle East.
Dressed in a light pink silk dhoti and kurta paired with a sleeveless jacket and stole, the PM participated in rituals of a ceremony to dedicate the temple to the people. Upon arrival at the grand temple complex, the Prime Minister was greeted by the members of the Indian community. Several Indian celebrities including actors Akshay Kumar, Dilip Joshi, Vivek Oberoi among others also attended the opening ceremony of the temple.
The Prime Minister participated in the 'Global Aarti', where all 1,200 BAPS temples across the world offered prayers simultaneously on the historic occasion and was garlanded by BAPS spiritual guru Mahant Swami Maharaj. Addressing the inaugural event, the PM said, "Today, the UAE has written a golden chapter in human history. A beautiful and divine temple is being inaugurated here. Many years of hard work have been involved behind this moment. The blessings of Lord Swaminarayan are attached (to this occasion)".
After PM Modi arrived in the UAE and met President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, several key agreements were signed between the two countries, including an agreement on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor, an MoU on cooperation in the field of electricity interconnection and trade and an Agreement on interlinking of the instant payment platforms - UPI (India) and AANI (UAE).
(with inputs from agencies)
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