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Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said Qatar’s investment in India has grown five times since March 2020, however, it is still below the potential level and can be significantly increased further. Naidu begins his three-day visit to Qatar.
Naidu held delegation-level talks with H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar, today.
He appreciated that Qatar’s investment in India has grown five times since March 2020, adding, "it is still well below potential and can be substantially increased."
Also, Naidu said that there is a keen interest in the private Indian business community to build partnerships with Qatar.
Naidu who becomes the first-ever Vice President of India to visit the State of Qatar, lauded Qatar for emerging as an education hub in the region and expressed happiness over several Indian universities opening offshore campuses in Qatar.
Talking about the health sector, Naidu mentioned the useful contribution made by Indian health professionals in the health sector in Qatar.
Further, the VP said that about 800 US FDA approved manufacturing units, India takes pride in being the ‘Pharmacy of the World’, and supplies a large number of medicines to the US and Europe. He noted that India would also be happy to work with Qatar in the area of traditional medicine.
Taking note of nearly 40% of India's gas requirements are met by Qatar, Naidu said that India deeply values Qatar's role in its energy security and underscored the need to move beyond buyer-seller relationships into a comprehensive energy partnership.
During the meeting, Naidu also expressed his desire of wanting Qatar to be India's partner on their journey toward green development.
While recognising that the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation, Naidu listed several achievements by India in this field such as digital payments. He underlined that this area has huge potential for collaboration between both countries.
The Indian VP also congratulated Qatar for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022 and on being selected as the host nation for the Asian Games 2030, the Vice President called for more youth exchange programs between the two countries.
He also mentioned that Qatar is not just among the countries with the highest per capita income; but also the top gas supplier to the world. Naidu added that he was deeply impressed with the strides being made by Qatar in its development journey.
Naidu landed in Qatar yesterday, on the last leg of his ongoing three-nation tour. He was received by H.E. Soltan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on his arrival at Doha airport.
