India and Qatar on Wednesday inked six agreements as visiting Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on energy, investment and people-to-people ties.
Qatar, the largest source of India’s LNG imports at 86%, is keen on boosting energy ties. Bilateral trade stands at $16 billion, heavily weighted in favour of Qatar due to the LNG imports.
India is also seeking to invest in major infrastructure projects in the Gulf country, which is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
The six agreements include: The transfer of sentenced prisoners, an MoU for cooperation in information and communication technology, an MoU between the ministry of earth sciences and Qatar Meteorological Department for scientific and technical cooperation, an MoU between the Diplomatic Institute of the ministry of foreign affairs of Qatar and the Foreign Service Institute of India’s external affairs ministry, an MoU for cooperation in the field of radio and television and an agreement for mutual cooperation and exchange of news.
Under the agreement on sentenced prisoners, Indian prisoners convicted in Qatar can be brought to India to serve the remaining part of their sentence. Similarly, Qatari citizens convicted in India can be sent to their home country to serve their sentence.
{{/usCountry}}Under the agreement on sentenced prisoners, Indian prisoners convicted in Qatar can be brought to India to serve the remaining part of their sentence. Similarly, Qatari citizens convicted in India can be sent to their home country to serve their sentence.
{{/usCountry}}This agreement would enable the sentenced people to be near their families and would help in their social rehabilitation, said an official statement.