India and Qatar signed six pacts to boost trade and investment

India and energy-rich Qatar signed six important agreements.

Key Highlights:

• One MoU will provide one on transfer of sentenced prisoners as the two countries sought to inject a fresh momentum in their bilateral ties.
•  The other five MoUs will provide for cooperation in areas like information and communication technology, atmospheric and ocean sciences and media. 
• The MoU in the field of information and communication technology would provide enhanced business opportunities for Indian IT industry in Qatar.
•  Another MoU was signed between Ministry of Earth Sciences and Qatar Meteorological Department for cooperation in the field of  of atmospheric and ocean sciences.
• The pacts were signed after Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani held deep discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which both the leaders discussed a lot of issues including enhancing cooperation in energy sector and boosting trade and investment.
• According to official figure, 96 Indians are currently languishing in various jails in Qatar which is home to around 600,000 Indians.
•  A separate MoU was inked between Diplomatic Institute of Qatar’s Foreign Ministry and Foreign Service Institute of External Affairs Ministry to facilitate exchange of faculty members and experts. 
• The two sides also finalised a pact to encourage regular exchange of radio and TV programmes and content between Prasar Bharati and Qatar Media Cooperation.

 Qatar importance:

• Qatar supplies 86 per cent of India’s Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).
• The bilateral annual trade is around USD 16 billion.
• Qatar has embarked on an ambitious programme for overall development as part of its Qatar 2030 vision and has created a dedicated Ministry of Information and Communication Technology for capacity building in ICT.