NEW DELHI: India and Qatar are exploring the possibility of signing a free trade agreement (FTA) in future and the two nations have set an aim of doubling bilateral trade to $28 billion in the next five years.
“While there are talks going on for the India-Gulf Cooperation FTA, India at a bilateral level with Qatar has decided that we will look at the possibility of an FTA in future,” secretary (CPV and OIA) in the external affairs ministry Arun Kumar Chatterjee said at a briefing on Tuesday.
The announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani during his ongoing visit here.
Qatar is also a member of the six-nation GCC, with which India has been in discussions for the FTA since 2004.
Apart from the FTA, Qatar’s commerce and industry minister Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani said his country is also ready to take steps to speed up negotiations for a new bilateral investment promotion and investment agreement.
After the bilateral and delegation-level talks between the two leaders, both sides also signed the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and a pact to elevate the relations between the two countries to the strategic partnership.
Total trade between India and Qatar in 2023-24 stood at $14.08 billion, with India’s imports at $1.7 billion and imports at $12.3 billion. India’s imports from Qatar include LNG, LPG, chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics and aluminium articles. India’s exports to Qatar include cereals, copper, iron and steel, vegetables, fruits, spices, and processed food products, electrical and other machinery, plastic products, construction material, textiles and garments, chemicals, precious stones, and rubber.
Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG and LPG to India. In February last year, a new $78-billion deal was signed between QatarEnergy and PetronetLNG. The agreement extends the LNG supply deal, which is expiring in 2028 to another 20 years.
In December 2024, GAIL signed an agreement with Qatar Energy for the purchase of 60 cargoes over the next five years. Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) and QatarEnergy signed an agreement for supply of two million tonne Naphtha.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Qatar in India stood at $1.5 billion, while Indian companies have invested $3,356 million in Qatar. Apart from FDI, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has made substantial investments in Indian companies such as Reliance Retail Ventures, Adani Transmission, Sriram Housing Finance and Swiggy, among others.
The discussions between India and Qatar focussed largely on trade, investment and energy.
Investments by Qatar in India have been in the field of retail, power, information technology, affordable housing and health.
At Tuesday’s meeting both sides identified areas like infrastructure, ports, ship-building, energy including renewable energy, smart cities, food parks and startups, where investments from Qatar can be increased.
Source: The Financial Express
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