India, Qatar enjoy historically close relations: PM Modi on Doha visit

India and Qatar enjoy historically close and friendly relations and the multifaceted ties between the two countries have continued to deepen in recent years Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday ahead of his visit to DohaModi said that he was looking forward to meeting Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani under whose leadership Qatar continues to witness tremendous growth and transformation The prime minister said this in a departure statement ahead of his twonation visit to the United Arab Emirates UAE and Qatar Modi is scheduled to travel to Doha on Wednesday afternoon after concluding his twoday visit to the UAEThe announcement on Modis visit to the Qatari capital came on Monday hours after seven out of eight jailed former Indian Navy personnel returned home nearly threeandhalf months after a Qatari court handed them a death sentence that was subsequently commuted to jail terms ranging from three to 25 yearsQatar has released all the eight Indians The former Indian Navy personnel apparently faced charges of espionage but neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against them publicModis visit to Qatar on February 1415 will be his second trip to that country as the prime ministerIndia and Qatar enjoy historically close and friendly relations Modi said In recent years our multifaceted ties have continued to deepen in all spheres including high level political exchanges growing trade and investment between two countries strengthening of our energy partnership and cooperation in culture and education he saidThe prime minister said the presence of over 800000 strong Indian community in Doha is a testament to our strong peopletopeople tiesBesides holding talks with the Amir Modi is scheduled to meet other high dignitaries in Qatar as wellIn his statement Modi said he is looking forward to further advancing Indias comprehensive strategic partnership with the UAE Over the last nine years our cooperation with UAE in diverse sectors such as trade and investment defence and security food and energy security and education has grown manifold Our cultural and peopletopeople connect is stronger than ever he saidI look forward to meeting Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan the President of the UAE in Abu Dhabi and hold wideranging discussions on taking forward our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Modi saidBoosting cooperation in areas of energy ports fintech digital infrastructure railways and investment flows are set to be the focus of talks between the two leaders on Tuesday The two sides are likely to ink a number of agreements to shore up cooperation in several key areasIn Abu Dhabi Modi will also inaugurate the first Hindu temple in the city I will also inaugurate the first Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi The BAPS temple will be an enduring tribute to the values of harmony peace and tolerance which both India and the UAE share the prime minister said I will address the members of the Indian community from all the Emirates of the UAE at a special event in Abu Dhabi he saidModi is also set to meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum the vice president prime minister and defence minister of the UAE I will be addressing the gathering of world leaders at the World Government Summit in Dubai on February 14 Modi saidMy discussions with Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid on the margins of the summit will focus on strengthening our multifaceted ties with Dubai he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever