Overview of Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s Visit to Qatar from October 6 to 7, 2025

Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I), Government of India (GOI), was on a two-day official visit to Qatar from October 6 to 7, 2025, marking his first official visit to Qatar, with an aim to deepen trade, investment, and digital cooperation between India and Qatar.

Highlights of the Visit:

Green Initiative: On October 6, 2025, Union Minister Piyush Goyal paid floral tribute to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Embassy of India in Doha (Qatar) and planted a sapling under the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” initiative, highlighting India’s commitment to sustainability.

India-Qatar JCM:

On October 6, 2025, Union Minister Piyush Goyal and H.E. Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Thani, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Qatar, co-chaired India-Qatar Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) on Economic and Commercial Operation, in Doha.

Participants: The meeting reviewed current trade, investment, and industrial cooperation, with representatives from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), MoC&I, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), MoC&I, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), MoC&I, and the Qatar Chamber.

Key Outcomes:

Trade: Reviewed trade between India and Qatar, worth over USD 14 billion in 2024-25, and discussed ways to expand and diversify it and set a goal to double bilateral trade by 2030.

LNG supply: During the India–Qatar Joint Business Council (JBC) meeting, he welcomed Qatar’s long-term (Liquefied Natural Gas) LNG supply agreement of 7.5 million tonnes per year starting 2028

FTA: Agreed to quickly finalize the Terms of Reference (ToR) to start formal negotiations on the India-Qatar Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

• The agreement will aim to reduce tariffs on goods and services, make market access easier for Indian and Qatar companies, and enhance cooperation in investment protection, intellectual property, fintech, and green economy sectors.

Investment: Acknowledged the commitment from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to invest USD 10 billion in India and expressed their intent to explore more mutually beneficial investments in areas such as infrastructure, Renewable Energy (RE), logistics, and digital economy projects.

• The move aims to strengthen collaboration between Invest India and Qatar Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) Qatar, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Indian financial institutions, Qatar Central Bank and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Priority Sectors: Emphasized cooperation in priority sectors such as digital economy, healthcare, agriculture, tourism, culture, and environment.

UPI in Qatar:

Launch: On October 7, 2025, Union Minister Piyush Goyal launched India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), an instant payment system, at Lulu Mall, The Pearl Island in Doha.

Collaboration: It is part of a broader collaboration between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), Qatar National Bank (QNB), and NETSTARS, a Japanese payments gateway.

• The collaboration aims to facilitate seamless Quick Response (QR)-based UPI transactions at Point-of-Sales (POS) terminals across Qatar, enhancing the convenience for Indian expatriates and travelers in Qatar.

Community Engagement: Met with members of the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC), the Doha chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), and the Indian community in Qatar.

About Qatar:

Prime Minister (PM) – Mohammad bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani
Capital – Doha
Currency – Qatari Riyal, QAR