Context:

Recently, Qatar hosted the India-Qatar Joint Working Group (JWG) Meeting in Doha on 10th July 2024.

More on the news

• The JWG meeting was co-chaired by the Economic Advisor, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India and the Director of International Cooperation and Trade Agreements of Qatar. 
• Both sides reviewed the progress of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Food Safety and Cooperation. They also agreed to activate the Joint Business Council to cooperate in private sectors' trade and investment.
• Both countries identified several areas of focus for enhancing bilateral trade and mutually beneficial cooperation sectors.
• The next bilateral JWG meeting in 2025 will be hosted by New Delhi, India.

About India-Qatar Relations

Economic cooperation 

• Bilateral trade between India and Qatar stood at USD 14.08 billion in 2023-24. Though it was US$ 18.77 billion in 2022-23.
• India is the second largest trading partner to Qatar.  India is among the top three largest export destinations for Qatar (China and Japan being the other two)
• Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India (10.74 MMT for US$ 8.32 billion in FY 2022-23), accounting for over 48% of India's global LNG imports.
• Qatar’s key exports to India include LNG, LPG, chemicals and petrochemicals, plastics, and aluminium articles.

Political relations

• There has been a regular exchange of high-level bilateral visits. The Prime Minister of India visited to Doha in 2016 at the invitation of the then Amir of Qatar.
• The Prime Minister of India also met Amir on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai in December 2023 and discussed the potential of the India-Qatar bilateral partnership.

Defence Cooperation

• India regularly participates in the biennial Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) in Doha.
• India-Qatar Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed during the PM’s visit to Qatar in November 2008

Community

• • As of December 2023, over 835,000 Indian nationals reside in Qatar, making up the largest expatriate community and around 27% of Qatar's total population.