Strategic ties

 

THAT India and Qatar were headed to deeper bilateral relations had become clear when Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamin Bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in India for a rare personal welcome by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi at the airport beyond standard protocol. Mr. Modi, too, had received a similar welcome at Qatar some time ago. Obvious, thus, it has been that the two countries have been drawing closer to each other in multiple dimensions of mutuality over time. And then came the expected declaration of the intent to raise the friendship between India and Qatar to the status of “strategic partnership”. In other words, both the countries see each other as long-term friends through thick and thin and that they would stand by each other in every possible situation.

 

What is to be marked in a most pronounced manner about India-Qatar friendship is the sophistication the two leaders have successfully built into the relation. No matter the outward elements of diverse cultures of the two countries, India and Qatar have successfully evolved a better and finer understanding of their mutual interests -- which are of immense importance in these times particularly dogged by an otherwise cantankerous regional neighbourhood. For long, India has tried to maintain a sense of evenness in relationship with the countries of the Middle East. Yet, the polish that Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi brought to the diplomatic give-and-take with countries in the Middle East is of an entirely elevated level from multiple angles. Breaking the barriers of the so-called Hindu ideology that he is internationally associated with, Mr. Narendra Modi has proved immensely successful in drawing the leaderships of most Middle-Eastern countries closer to New Delhi. Similar efforts were made by his predecessors as well. But the levels of refinement Mr. Modi has been able to achieve in his dealings with the different national geographies of the Middle East could not be imagined a few years ago.

 

All this has gone into building a stronger relationship with Qatar whose leadership is successfully experimenting with a good mix of tradition and modernity within the framework of the natural ideological set up. In those efforts, India has been proving to be a very useful partner -- which got endorsed once again with the current visit of the Amir of Qatar to India. Among the major pacts between the two countries is the all-important Revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement that would benefit the citizens of both the countries. Five more memoranda of understanding (MoUs) also came during the parleys covering areas such as economic partnership, management of archives, deepening of trade relations, enhancement of common interests in energy, security and enhanced cooperation at international platforms. But all these agreements now get a further boost with the decision to elevate the relationship to strategic levels. One of the most tangible outcomes is the proposed enhancement of volume of trade to 28 billion USD in the next five years -- which is twice bigger than the current levels.

 

These are no mean achievements for both, India and Qatar. It is clear that India is becoming a closer partner of Qatar -- as well as of some other countries -- in the Middle-Eastern international community. There is a need to acknowledge the polish and dignity Mr. Narendra Modi and Mr. Sheikh Tamin Bin Hamad Al-Thani have succeeded in weaving into the mutual relationship -- well above the normal confines of diplomatic formality. This step forward will be treated by the global diplomatic circles as a major development with lasting ramifications not just for the two countries but also for other ones in the immediate and subsequent neighbourhood -- something Prime Minister Mr. Modi has worked for.