New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Qatar on 14 February and hold bilateral talks with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced Monday.
This comes just hours after seven of the eight Indian Navy veterans, detained in the Gulf country on alleged espionage charges, returned home after nearly two years. All of them were freed.
It was also announced that Modi “personally” oversaw the release of the eight Indian nationals, who were previously facing death sentences, and that New Delhi continues to work with Doha on the return of the eighth Indian national — former naval commander Purnendu Tiwari, who is a PRAVASI Bharatiya Samman awardee.
During a briefing Monday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said: “From the UAE, after completing his visit on 14 February, the Prime Minister will travel to Doha, Qatar. During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and other high dignitaries.”
Modi will pay an official visit to the UAE from 13-14 February. He will travel to Doha the next day and return to India on 15 Feb. This will be the Prime Minister’s second visit to Qatar. He briefly met Qatar’s Emir on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai last year, during which the two discussed the “well-being of the Indian community in Qatar”.
There are approximately 8.4 lakh Indians living in Qatar. There are roughly 700 Indian prisoners in the Gulf country.
The release of the Indian Navy veterans came on the heels of a massive 20-year deal signed by India and Qatar for the supply of liquified natural gas (LNG). Qatar is the world’s second-largest supplier of LNG.
Throughout the case and legal proceedings, the MEA nor the Qatari authorities revealed the charges against the eight Indian nationals. However, ThePrint had reported that they were accused of spying on Qatar’s programme to obtain Italian-made, high-tech submarines.
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‘PM personally supervised case’
The PM personally supervised the case and never “shied away” from “any initiative” that would ensure the release of the Indian nationals detained in Qatar, Kwatra told reporters Monday.
“We are grateful for their return. We deeply appreciate the decision of the Qatari govt and the Emir to release them… The eighth Indian national has also been released and we will continue to work with the Qatar government to see how quickly his return to India would be possible,” he added.
In August 2022, the eight men were picked up by Qatari authorities and detained. Last October, a Qatari court sentenced them to death. However, two months later, the death sentences were commuted and some received life sentences, while others received reduced terms.
“The PM’s visit to Qatar will provide an opportunity for the top leadership of the two countries to discuss ways to further deepen and strengthen our multifaceted partnership as well as exchange views on different regional and international issues of mutual importance,” said the foreign secretary.
“The bilateral relationship between India and Qatar, that has been steadily growing, includes a comprehensive span including political ties, trade and investment linkages, strong energy partnership and ties in the field of culture, education and security,” he added.
Bilateral trade between India and Qatar currently stands at roughly $20 billion.
Asked if India would look into the large number of Indian prisoners in UAE and Qatar, the foreign secretary assured that the government has “extensive mechanisms” in place to extend assistance to those in need.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: 8 Navy veterans jailed by Qatar released after pardon by Qatari Emir, 7 return to India