Qatar said on Tuesday it is ready to accelerate negotiations for a new bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement with India.
“We are ready to take steps to fast track negotiations for a new bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement,” Qatar’s commerce and industry minister Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal al Thani told a CII India-Qatar Business Forum in India.
He urged businesses in both countries to explore further investment and industrial collaboration opportunities.
Sheikh Faisal is part of a delegation accompanying the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, on a two-day visit to India.
India has received $1.5 billion in foreign direct investment from Qatar between April 2000 and September 2024. However, bilateral trade has dipped to $14 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year from $18.77 billion the previous year.
Qatar is India’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also exporting chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics and aluminum.
India’s main exports to Qatar include cereals, copper, iron and steel, vegetables, fruits, spices, processed food, machinery, plastics, construction materials, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, and rubber. The trade balance currently favours Qatar.
Indian commerce and industry Minister Piyush Goyal acknowledged the “bias towards energy trade” and called for diversification into other sectors.
“Now we are looking at a new future where we will transition from energy being a bulwark of our trade to new age technologies whether it is artificial intelligence, internet of things, quantum computing, and semiconductors,” Goyal said.
He outlined sustainability, entrepreneurship, and energy as the three pillars of the future trade relationship.
Goyal also invited Qatari businesses to invest in India.
Two memoranda of understanding were signed at the event, one between the CII
and the Qatari Businessmen Association, and another between Invest Qatar and Invest India.
Goyal also announced that Qatar National Bank is expanding its presence in India by opening an office in Gujarat’s GIFT City.
