PM Narendra Modi received a ceremonial welcome in Doha
Highlights
- PM Modi is in Qatar, his second stop on his five-nation tour
- He met business leaders and held talks with the Emir of Qatar
- Yesterday, he addressed Indian workers at a medical camp in Doha
Describing India as a "land of opportunity", Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited Qatar's business leaders to "take advantage" by investing in the country. The PM, who is on a five-nation tour, reached Qatar's capital Doha from Afghanistan on Saturday.
"India is a land of opportunity. I've come to personally invite you to take advantage of this opportunity," he told them, adding that he will address "the bottlenecks you have identified.".
In a
roundtable meeting with the leaders, the PM also said India's 800 million youth are its biggest strength and added that infrastructure expansion and upgradation and manufacturing are his priorities.
After being
accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Emiri Diwan, the seat of power of Qatar's ruler, PM Modi held talks with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Cooperation in energy is expected to be high on the agenda of the talks. Both sides are expected to sign a few agreements.
Qatar is an important trading partner for India in the Gulf region with bilateral trade in 2014-15 standing at $ 15.67 billion. Qatar is also one of India's key sources of crude oil.
Later in the day, PM Modi will interact with the Indian community. Qatar is home to around 6,30,000 Indians -- comprising the single largest group of migrants.
On Saturday night, he addressed Indian workers at a medical camp in Doha and praised them by saying their hard work has earned India a good name globally.In Afghanistan yesterday, PM Modi inaugurated the Afghan-India Friendship Dam. From Qatar, he will leave for a two-day visit to Switzerland where he is likely to seek support for India's membership to the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group or NSG. He is also likely to raise the issue of black money stashed by Indians in Swiss banks.
From Switzerland, the Prime Minister will travel to Washington on June 6 where he will address a joint session of the US Congress and hold talks with President Barack Obama. He will then head to Mexico on June 8.