Since PM Modi became the PM in 2014, India has reached out to the Gulf with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim being an early visitor in March 2015.
By Hindustan Times,
In the complicated world of Middle-East politics, where radical Islam jostles for space with a strong Shia-Sunni current, Qatar is often described by the West and Israel as the arsonist and firefighter of the volatile region. Using the revenue generated by selling its vast natural gas reserves, the third largest after Russia and Iran, Qatar has gained political leverage in the Middle East at the cost of traditional powers of the region. It houses the largest US air base in the region at Al Udeid, mediated the US-Iran prisoner swap deal in 2023, mediated the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces in 2021 from Afghanistan by giving shelter to Taliban leadership, was involved in Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages, is friends with Muslim Brotherhood, was also involved in Yemen, Syria and Libya civil wars. Simply put, Qatar has a finger in every pie in the Middle East. Under the leadership of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar has emerged as a big political hitter in West Asia with the capability to contribute to solving problems in the region.
It was in recognition of Qatar’s growing position in West Asia and the fair treatment of the large Indian diaspora in the Gulf country that Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar broke protocol and went to receive Sheikh Tamim and his entourage at the IGI airport when the Qatar Emir arrived for a two-day visit to Delhi on February 16-18.
India-Qatar relationship under Modi
Since PM Modi became the PM in 2014, India has reached out to the Gulf with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim being an early visitor in March 2015. In the past 10 years, the relationship did not pick up the required pace but his visit this week was the defining moment with strategic partnership agreement taking it to the next level. As part of his Gulf vision, PM Modi travelled to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait and forged deeper bilateral ties. Qatar supplies 40 per cent of India’s natural gas requirements with New Delhi now looking towards Doha acquiring a deeper economic stake in India through foreign direct investment.
During Sheikh Tamim’s visit, the two leaders discussed all the major issues including the war in Gaza and Ukraine, the security situation in the Middle East with instability in Syria, the Indian Ocean Region and China. While the two sides upgraded their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership, Qatar committed itself to supply 7.5 million metric tons of gas to India for 20 more years apart from spot purchases after the present long-term contract expires in 2028. The two countries also decided to double the bilateral trade from USD 14 billion to USD 28 billion by 2028. The icing on the cake was Qatar’s commitment to invest USD 10 billion in India through its sovereign fund, a big jump from USD 1.5 billion currently invested in India. The proposed Middle-East Economic Corridor that runs through India, UAE and Saudi Arabia did not figure in the bilateral meeting as Qatar is not part of the ambitious trade corridor.
While the bilateral visit of Sheikh Tamim was a success, the close relations between leaders of Qatar and India also sent strong signals to West Asian powers as well as Turkey and Pakistan. Although Qatar has made it clear that its relations with India are on an independent strong footing without any links or ramifications with its ties with Pakistan, India is concerned about the presence of Pakistani-origin nationals in Qatari armed forces. Given that the Indian Air Force and Qatari Air Force have 36 Rafales respectively as the front-line fighters, New Delhi fears that Pakistanis in the Qatari air force could get access to the French fighter to study the vulnerabilities and capabilities of the aircraft to help Rawalpindi in the worst case scenario with India. While France has made it clear to Qatar that it would stop spare parts supply to Doha in case Pakistani technicians were given access to Rafale. But the engine and frame of the Rafale fighter with India and Qatar are the same and hence the security concern for New Delhi.
While India has close ties with UAE and Saudi Arabia, it has parallelly pushed for strong ties with Qatar and appreciates the role played by Sheikh Tamim in releasing seven former Indian Navy personnel last year who were on death row. The case now stands closed with the eighth Indian Navy personnel still in Doha facing a financial fraud case along with other Qatari nationals.
That PM Modi gave the full red carpet treatment to Sheikh Tamim was also in recognition of how the Emir put Qatar on the Middle-East high table, where Turkey claims leadership on its Ottoman empire legacy, Saudi Arabia as custodian of the two Holy Mosques and Iran as the Shia shoulder of Islam. Qatar today has close links with Taliban leadership in Afghanistan and Iran while maintaining close ties with Washington. It is due to the power play of Sheikh Tamim that Qatar now has the pulse of West Asia and is the go-to person for understanding the region and a key to resolving any conflagration in the region.
The visit of Sheikh Tamim also hit high notes in New Delhi with Qatar Investment Authority, the multi-billion dollar sovereign fund, opening offices in New Delhi and Doha looking towards increasing foreign direct investment in India in different sectors including infrastructure, technology, manufacturing, food security, logistics and hospitality.
With India having population percentage wise the largest diaspora in Qatar, Sheikh Tamim’s visit to India after nearly 10 years has not only brought the two countries close but also removed any misgivings that Doha may have had over India giving preference to other powers in the region.
The visit of Sheikh Tamim to India is another feather in the cap of Prime Minister Narendra Modi under whose leadership India’s relationship with the Gulf region has transformed in the past 11 years. Today, India is the voice that matters and is valued by all when it comes to the complex West Asia.
