Indian vice-president launches 'India-Qatar Start Up bridge'

Indian Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called on His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani.

HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari and HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi were also present during the meeting with the prime minister. Both sides positively assessed the developments in bilateral relations and agreed to further strengthen their historic friendship in all areas. Vice-president Naidu arrived in Doha as part of his three-nation tour and is accompanied by a high-level delegation including the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar and three MPs, Sushil Kumar Modi, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and P Ravindhranath.The vice-president reiterated the importance attached by India to close and friendly relations with Qatar and the commitment to deepen multifaceted bilateral co-operation in trade, investment, energy, food security, defence, technology, culture, education, health, media and people to people contacts. He thanked the Qatari leadership for taking great care of the Indian community.His Highness the Father Amir recalled the historic relations between the two countries which are based on mutual trust and appreciated the contribution of the Indian community in Qatar's development. An understanding has been reached to set up an Indian Council for Cultural Relations Chair of Indian studies at Qatar University. ANI and Qatar News Agency have also agreed to enhance bilateral media co-operation. Both sides expressed strong commitment to further enhance bilateral trade and investment co-operation. His Highness the Father Amir asked the vice-president about sectors for more investment opportunities in India. Naidu invited the Qatari side to explore the significant opportunities in India in a range of sectors including infrastructure, connectivity both physical and digital, energy, defence and hospitality.Qatar also invited Indian entities to look for opportunities in sectors like education, pharmaceuticals and healthcare in the country. Both sides discussed the impact of recent global developments on food and energy security. They renewed their long-term commitment to energy partnership. Naidu assured the Qatari leadership of India’s assistance in meeting Qatar’s food security. In the evening, Naidu addressed an India-Qatar Business Forum jointly organised by Indian business bodies, FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM, along with Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry. During the meeting, Naidu launched “India-Qatar Start Up bridge” that aims to link the start-up ecosystems of the two countries. He highlighted the strength of India-Qatar ties and called for building an enabling environment and forging more collaborations for mutual benefit.Leading businessmen from both India and Qatar participated in the forum. It is hoped that the forum will result in new networking opportunities for trade and investment between both sides. Qatar’s FDI in India is in excess of $450mn and there is great potential for increasing these investments. Invest India and Investment Promotion Agency of Qatar have reached an understanding on cooperation to promote two-way investments between both countries.