Qatar is hosting FIFA World Cup from November 20 to December 18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Qatar’s Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and thanked him for his gracious Diwali greetings, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Saturday.

The PMO said Prime Minister Modi has also conveyed his best wishes for a successful FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Earlier in a tweet, the Prime Minister said: “Was happy to speak with HH Amir @TamimBinHamad of Qatar. Thanked him for his gracious Diwali greetings, and conveyed best wishes for a successful @FIFAWorldCup in Qatar. We agreed to jointly celebrate 50 yrs of India-Qatar diplomatic relations in 2023.”

India and Qatar’s relations have improved since Prime Minister Modi activated India’s Look West policy. In June 2016, Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Doha in eight years. Then PM Manmohan Singh had visited the Gulf country in 2008.

In March 2015, Qatar’s Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had paid a state visit to India. Previously, then Qatari Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani had visited India in 1999, 2005 and 2012. Former Qatari PM Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani visited India in December 2016.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India's bilateral trade with Qatar in 2020-21 was US$ 9.21 billion. India’s export to Qatar during 2020-21 was US$ 1.28 billion and India’s import from Qatar was US$ 7.93 billion.

Qatar’s key exports to India include LNG, LPG, chemicals and petrochemicals, plastics, and aluminium articles, while India’s key exports to Qatar include cereals, copper articles, iron and steel articles, vegetables, fruits, spices, and processed food products, electrical and other machinery, plastic products, construction material, textiles & garments, chemicals, precious stones and rubber.

India is among the top three largest export destinations for Qatar (Japan and South Korea being the other two) and is also among the top three sources of Qatar’s imports, along with China and Japan.

Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, accounting for over 50% of India's global LNG imports. Besides LNG, India also imports ethylene, propylene, ammonia, urea and polyethylene from Qatar. Therefore, the balance of trade continues to be heavily in Qatar’s favour. However, there has been a substantial growth in India’s exports to Qatar in the last few years.

According to the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI), there are over 6000 big and small Indian companies operating in Qatar. Indian companies are today pursuing collaborations in various sectors like infrastructure, communications and information technology, energy, and other areas in Qatar.

Indian companies have invested about US$450 million in Qatar, according to a statement by Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). Indian companies from across sectors have been present in Qatar for over several years and among them are Larsen & Toubro, Voltas, Shapoorji Pallonji, Wipro, TCS and Tech Mahindra.