{"id":37650,"date":"2025-02-19T19:30:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T14:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=37650"},"modified":"2025-03-01T18:12:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T12:42:20","slug":"india-qatar-strategic-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-02-2025\/india-qatar-strategic-partnership","title":{"rendered":"India, Qatar Elevate Ties To &#8216;Strategic Partnership&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India and Qatar have signed an agreement to elevate their ties to the level of a <strong>strategic partnership.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Both countries commemorated the<strong> 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations in 2023.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Outcomes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Both countries are exploring the <strong>option of concluding a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-12-2022\/free-trade-agreements-ftas\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-12-2022\/free-trade-agreements-ftas\">Free Trade Agreement (FTA)<\/a>.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Two sides also signed a <strong>double taxation avoidance treaty<\/strong> and also planned on <strong>doubling their trade to $28 billion within five years.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Both sides discussed the<strong> <\/strong>Israel-Palestinian conflict in Gaza Strip.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India currently has strategic partnerships with four other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council \u2013<\/strong> the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance of the Visit:&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Arab States Summit:<\/strong> The visit of the Qatari Emir has drawn attention as it is being held just two days prior to the five Arab states summit in Riyadh.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The summit will take up the new proposals from the United States.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>US Proposal on Gaza Crisis: <\/strong>President Trump\u2019s proposed that the Palestinians of the region should be shifted out to neighbouring countries like Egypt and Jordan.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India supports a two-state solution in bringing an end to the Israel-Palestinian crisis and has welcomed the ceasefire that was announced recently.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Gulf Region<\/strong><br>&#8211; The Gulf Region typically refers to the countries surrounding the <strong>Persian Gulf in the Middle East.&nbsp;<\/strong><br>&#8211; It includes nations like <strong>Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>&#8211; This region is known for its <strong>vast oil reserves,<\/strong> which have significantly influenced global economics and politics.<br>&nbsp;<br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gulf Region\" width=\"245\" height=\"217\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXeiDk0cO5L0NxRJSfKkWKAbZbVB9P_MbflRpqoFn18Qc8z_BUuXg7d_vQ7IGGf5h4S97MJHg2x6yV2x-S8ZBqaFOu7vwKWtspr6Za1nkIfiyT35uFlB1WBbXDjxW18NQ_g7bhZt?key=kdzyT10Q1sgBLw6uQcaWm9ec\"><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Brief on India-Qatar Relations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Economic and Trade Relations: <\/strong>Qatar is the <strong>largest provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to India,<\/strong> supplying 10.91 million metric tonnes of LNG and 4.92 million metric tonnes of LPG in FY 2023-24.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The current annual trade is worth<strong> $14.08 billion.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Defence: <\/strong>India participates in the biennial Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Exercise Zair-Al-Bahr<\/strong> is a joint naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Qatar Emiri Naval Force (QENF).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The India-Qatar Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed in 2008 and extended for five years in 2018.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The agreement is managed through the <strong>Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Labor and Diaspora: <\/strong>India has a large expatriate community in Qatar, numbering over 700,000.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Indian diaspora in Qatar plays a crucial role in the country&#8217;s development, particularly in construction and other sectors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regional Cooperation: Gulf Cooperation Coun<\/strong><strong>cil (GCC)<\/strong> is a <strong>political and economic alliance<\/strong> of <strong>six Middle Eastern countries<\/strong>\u2014Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. It was established in<strong> 1981.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India engages regularly with GCC and aims to deepen its relationship with the GCC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges\/Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Hamas\u2013Israel conflict <\/strong>and shipping attacks in the Red Sea affect India&#8217;s energy security and economic growth.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India remains cautious in Middle Eastern politics, balancing relations with the Gulf, Iran, and Israel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the conflict escalates, this balancing act could become more challenging.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Delay in Connectivity Projects: <\/strong>The conflict has delayed a senior-officials meeting for the I2U2 group since 2023.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India urges economic initiatives like<strong> I2U2 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/india-middle-east-europe-economic-corridor\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/india-middle-east-europe-economic-corridor\/\">IMEC<\/a><\/strong> to progress despite the conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>FTAs with GCC: <\/strong>Delays in finalizing the<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-11-2022\/india-gcc-free-trade-agreement-fta\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-11-2022\/india-gcc-free-trade-agreement-fta\">India\u2013GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA)<\/a><\/strong> due to changes in the GCC\u2019s trade negotiator.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reaching an agreement that satisfies all GCC states remains a key challenge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Growing security challenges are increasing the need for India to be a key strategic partner of Gulf states.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India aims to expand its regional presence and influence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stronger alignment in political, economic, and security interests is shaping a new framework for India-Gulf relations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If maintained, this framework will boost trust and enable more ambitious cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/pm-modi-amir-of-qatar-hold-talks-decide-to-elevate-india-qatar-ties-to-strategic-partnership\/article69233809.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India and Qatar have signed an agreement to elevate their ties to the level of a strategic partnership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37650"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38266,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37650\/revisions\/38266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}