Qatar and India held their first Joint Working Group meeting on Trade in Doha to boost economic ties, addressing trade barriers and exploring cooperation in key sectors.
The Qatar-India Joint Working Group on Trade held their first meeting in Doha on Sunday, marking a step towards boosting the two countries’ economic ties, which hit $13.5bn in 2023.
“During the meeting, opportunities for cooperation to enhance and strengthen trade and economic relations in vital sectors such as industry, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, agriculture, and food security were discussed,” Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
The Qatari ministry explained that the group is set to play “a vital role in quickly resolving bilateral issues by removing trade barriers, simplifying customs procedures” to further develop Doha and New Delhi’s trade and economic cooperation.
The joint group will also work on “improving infrastructure, logistics, and transit facilities to facilitate smoother cross-border trade,” the ministry added.
“Mechanisms to enable the private sector to benefit from promising investment opportunities in both countries were also explored by strengthening partnerships between the business sectors and increasing the volume of trade exchange between the two sides,” the statement said.
The Qatari and Indian sides stressed the importance of activating a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding to enhance their joint work to boost bilateral trade relations.
The joint trade group’s meeting took place after India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Doha last month.
At the time, Jaishankar met Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
The discussions dealt with “ways to support and develop” Qatar and India’s relations, according to a statement released by the The Gulf state’s foreign ministry at the time. Jaishankar’s visit also came five months after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Qatar.
Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won this year’s general election in June, previously visited Doha in February, which marked his first such visit to the country since 2016.
At the time, Modi met with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and expressed his “commitment to further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation” with Doha.
He also thanked the Qatari leader for hosting the Indian community of 800,000, which represents 26 percent of Doha’s population.
According to India’s foreign ministry, the country is among Qatar’s three largest export destinations. Qatar is also India’s largest liquified natural gas (LNG) supplier, accounting for 48 percent of its global imports.
In February, QatarEnergy and India’s Petronet signed a 20-year agreement for LNG supply. Under the terms, Qatar will supply India with 7.5 million tonnes (MMT) of LNG annually throughout the agreement’s duration.
Other key Qatari exports to India include chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics and aluminium. India’s exports to Qatar included cereals, copper articles, iron and steel, vegetables, fruits, spices, processed food products, textiles among others.
According to Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi is Doha’s second-largest trading partner, with more than 20,000 Indian companies operating in the Gulf state.
