India and Qatar boost energy ties, ink seven pacts

New Delhi: India and Qatar on Sunday signed seven agreements, including one facilitating Qatari institutional investments in India’s National Infrastructure Investment Fund and another on the exchange of information on terrorist financing and money laundering, on the final day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the Gulf nation.

Modi, who met the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Sunday, also agreed to expand cooperation in energy “through promotion of joint ventures in petrochemical complexes and cooperation in joint exploration in India and other countries,” said a joint statement, released at the end of the visit. Modi’s visit to Qatar comes after his visits to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran and ahead of a visit to Israel.

It comes at a time of great flux in West Asia and Gulf regions with Shia majority Iran, freed of sanctions for its clandestine nuclear programme, is looking to build up its economy. It also comes amid the Sunni militant Islamic State (IS) group declaring a caliphate out of areas encompassing large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The Qatari capital Doha was also where the Sunni Pashtun Taliban—which is ranged against the Afghan government led by President Ashraf Ghani— opened a representative office in 2013.

Terrorism was a key item of discussion between the two sides during Modi’s visit with the two sides expressing “strong condemnation” of international terrorism, “reiterating their firm resolve to cooperate together to root out this global menace which threatened all nations and societies,” the joint statement said.

“They noted that the spread of terrorist organisations at the global and regional level, and the significant rise in acts of terrorism directly undermined the international peace and security environment and endangered efforts to ensure sustainable growth and development,” it said.

“Both leaders condemned all acts of violence, terrorism and extremism, which cannot be justified under any circumstances, regardless of their motivation, in all their forms and manifestations....The two leaders (Modi and the Emir of Qatar) highlighted the need to isolate the sponsors and supporters of terrorism and agreed that urgent action against all such entities, which support terrorism and use it as an instrument of policy, must be taken,” the statement said.

Combatting global terrorism “should be based on a comprehensive approach which should include, but not limited to, countering violent extremism, combating radicalization and recruitment, disrupting terrorist movements, stopping all sources for financing of terrorism, stopping flow of foreign terrorist fighters, dismantling terrorist infrastructure, and countering terrorist propaganda through the internet,” the statement said.

Describing trade as the “abiding link” between the two countries, Modi and the Emir of Qatar discussed ways to increase Qatari investments in India, “particularly in different asset classes and various infrastructure sectors as well as the disinvestments of Indian public sector undertakings,” the joint statement said.

Modi highlighted the steps taken by India to increase the “ease of doing business” in the country and invited Qatar to be a partner in India’s growth story.

The two countries agreed to increase the level of participation in infrastructure projects in both countries, the statement said adding “they further deliberated upon the importance of cooperation between Qatar Investment Authority and National Infrastructure and Investment Fund set up by the government of India.”

Modi and the Emir discussed the need to boost cooperation in the financial services sector, including banking, insurance and capital markets and “decided to expand cooperation between the financial institutions of the two countries like Securities and Exchange Board of India and the respective central banks,” the statement said.

Qatar welcomed the participation of Indian companies in infrastructure development projects in preparation for FIFA 2022 World Cup and other infrastructure projects, the statement said.

On energy cooperation, India said its energy companies were keen to pursue “opportunities of mutual interest in Qatar, with Qatar Petroleum and other companies ...to jointly explore new fields as well development of discovered oil and gas assets and exploit the existing resources of natural gas and crude oil in Qatar,” the statement said. India invited Qatar to invest in India’s exploration and production by bidding for blocks in India and to participate in the second phase of the strategic reserves storage facility being created in India.

India imports 8.5 million tonnes of liquified natural gas from Qatar under the terms of a new pact signed in December.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.