Qatar keen on business with India
Goyal urges Indian businessmen to unlock full potential of Make in India to strengthen economic relations between both the nations
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said there is a lot of excitement in Qatar about forging partnerships with Indian businesses, not only for investments in the two countries, but also for collaborating on third-country projects. Citing an example, he said that Qatar-based Al Balagh is a partner with Larsen & Toubro, and they have completed projects in Qatar, with plans to undertake similar projects in third countries where they can jointly undertake the contracting work.
“There is a lot of excitement in Qatar for attracting partnerships with Indian businesses, both for investment in India and Qatar, as also for doing third country projects in partnership between Qatar and Indian businesses,” he told reporters here after meeting Al Balagh Chairman Sherida Saad Jubran Al Kaabi here.
He also met Qatar Development Bank CEO Abdulrahman Hesham Al Sowaidi. “The Qatari government is also looking at third country projects for which, as they inform me, the Qatar Development Bank is willing to give guarantees for financing,” he said.
Goyal has urged Indian businesses to fully utilise the opportunities offered by the government’s flagship initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Startup India’ to strengthen economic relations between India and Qatar.
The minister said that Indian businesses should seriously consider such guaranteed financing for partnering with Qataris, business persons in third countries. These partnerships are important as India and Qatar will soon finalise the contours to negotiate a free trade agreement and the pact is expected to be concluded by the middle or third quarter of next year. The minister is here for a two-day visit. He is leading a business delegation to deepen trade and investments between the two countries.
Qatar is an important trading partner of India in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with bilateral trade of over $14.15 billion in 2024-25. GCC members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
