PM Modi, Qatar emir decide to create task force for investments into India

The two leaders also looked at potential Qatari investments in the entire energy value chain in India

Updated on: Dec 8, 2020, 17:21:45 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Rezaul H Laskar

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India and Qatar decided on Tuesday to set up a special task force to facilitate investments by the Qatar Investment Authority, part of India’s ongoing outreach to key West Asian states to overcome the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File photo)

The decision was made when Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the telephone with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. The two leaders also looked at potential Qatari investments in the entire energy value chain in India.

The move came ahead of an expected visit to Qatar and Kuwait by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and a trip to Oman by minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan. On Tuesday, Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane began the first ever visit by an army chief to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

The flurry of engagements are part of India’s current outreach to West Asia, seen as part of New Delhi’s extended neighbourhood and home to some nine million expatriates.

The leaders of India and Qatar discussed the “robust cooperation” between both sides in investment flows and energy security, and decided to “create a special task force to further facilitate investments by Qatar Investment Authority into India”, the external affairs ministry said.

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They also decided to explore Qatari investments in the entire energy value chain in India and reviewed recent positive developments in the investment and energy sectors.

Modi conveyed his felicitations to the emir for the forthcoming Qatari national day of Qatar, while Al-Thani appreciated the enthusiasm with which the Indian community in Qatar participates in the celebrations.The leaders agreed to remain in regular touch and looked forward to meeting in person after the normalisation of the situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In recent weeks, India has focused on the interests of Indian workers in West Asia, and Jaishankar raised the issue of the return of a large number of Indian workers and professionals who want to resume work amid the easing of Covid-19-related restrictions during a virtual meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) troika last month. The meeting was joined by senior officials of Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.

India had despatched medicines and medical rapid response teams to West Asia amid the pandemic and also ensured that there was no disruption of food and essential supplies. This was appreciated by the GCC states.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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