An Indian delegation comprising of senior business executives from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) would be visiting Doha from September 24-25 to explore possibilities of corporation and collaboration with their Qatari counterparts.
The forthcoming visit of the CII delegation comes within the framework of an MoU signed between the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SCDL) and CII during the visit of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani to India in December 2016. SCDL is the competent authority for the 2022 FIFA World Cup with all powers and authority necessary to achieve its goals.
During their visit to Doha, the CII delegation will be interacting with senior officials at SCDL and will also hold interactions/meetings with senior officials at Qatar Chamber of Commerce and industry. On this occasion, the Indian Business and Professionals Council (IBPC), which functions under the aegis of the Embassy of India, Doha, is organising a networking event on September 24, 2017, during which B2B meetings will be held. This will provide an excellent opportunity for the Qatari businessmen and investors to meet with Indian businessmen and explore possibilities of cooperation and collaboration in various sectors of mutual interest. The event will be organised at Hotel Crowne Plaza.
The CII delegation comprises of representatives from sectors like manufacturing, engineering services, Information Technology, software development, sports infrastructure, automation, energy, food processing, pharmaceuticals, sanitation, hardware manufacturing, and consultancy and they will be exploring the possibilities of doing business/investments in Qatar. Indian industry looks forward to partnering with Qatar as it seeks to develop its capacity for manufacturing and services in the coming years.
CII, founded in 1895, is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 and is a non government non-profit industry LED and industry managed organisation which works to create an environment conducive to the growth of industries in India through advisory and consultative process. The MOU between SCDL & CII establishes a partnership for coordination and cooperation between India and Qatar companies for the successful execution of FIFA World Cup tournament.
Three high-level visits during the last few years, including the State visit by the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AI Thani, to India in March 2015; the visit of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, to Qatar in June 2016; and the visit of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa AI Thani to India in December 2016, and the multitude of agreements and MoUs signed during these visits, are an eloquent testimony to the steadily growing ties between the two countries.
India is the third largest export destination for Qatar while Qatar is India’s 11th largest trading partner. India is a major buyer of ethylene, propylene, ammonia, urea and polyethylene from Qatar. The bilateral trade exchange between the two countries stands at $8.43bn during 2016-17 and is expected to increase in the current financial year. The major import items for India include LNG, crude oil, petrochemical products and fertilisers, while India exports electrical goods, iron and steel products, transports vehicles, meat and other processed food products to Qatar. A Qatar-India Joint Business Council has also been set up for the private sectors of two countries to interact and exploit the potential in business and economic sectors. The two countries are also actively engaged to explore possibilities of expanding cooperation in the field of petroleum and gas based industries.
Mutual cooperation in various sectors including energy, petrochemicals, investments, infrastructure, project exports, education, culture, health, human resources, as well as media and Information Technology, has been steadily growing within an excellent framework provided by historic relations and regular and substantive engagement, including at the highest levels of the two governments.
Indian companies are today pursuing collaborations in infrastructure, communications and information technology, energy and other areas in Qatar, to the mutual benefit of both sides. With its huge and growing energy needs, India companies’ footprint in Qatar is constantly on the rise. There is a large and expanding market for Qatar’s LNG, LPG, and petrochemical products in India. The extensive infrastructure development in Qatar as it prepares to host the prestigious FIFA World Cup in 2022, and the acknowledged competences of India’s corporate sector, offer attractive opportunities for cooperation. The huge potential for significantly increasing Qatar’s investment in India, taking advantage of the new business-friendly policy environment, also presents a win-win scenario for both countries.
Indian companies have invested about $450m in Qatar. Indian companies from across sectors such as infrastructure, banking, insurance, information technology and consulting have been present in Qatar for over several years. The prominent among them are Larsen & Toubro, Voltas, Shapoorji Pallonji, ONGC Videsh, Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) and ICICI Bank.
The vibrant Indian community in Qatar is estimated at around 700,000 and are actively engaged in the economic development and progress of Qatar, a fact acknowledged by the leadership of the country.
The Peninsula Qatar
21 September
