India, Qatar discuss ways to strengthen Maritime cooperation

NEWDELHI: UnionPorts,ShippingandWaterways (MoPSW) Minister Sarbananda Sonowal recently met Minister of Transport of Qatar Jassim Saif Ahmed AlSulaiti and discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral maritimecooperation,accordingtoanofficialstatement.

The statement said India-Qatar cooperation in diverse sectors has been steadily growing in an excellent framework led by historical close ties, regular and substantiveengagement.

“Fruitful discussions were held on commitment to strengthen the bilateral maritime cooperation, including interactionbetweenIndianportsandQatariportstoshare best practices in areas of port operations, logistics, supply chainmanagement,anddigitalisation,”thestatementsaid quotingSonowal.

India’s bilateral trade with Qatar in 2021-22 was USD 15.03 billion. India’s export to Qatar during 2021-22 was USD 1.83 billion and India’s import from Qatar was USD13.19billion.

According to the statement, in 2021, India was among the top four largest export destinations for Qatar and also amongthetopthreesourcesofQatar’simports.

The statement further said that the year 2023 marks 50 years of establishment of full diplomatic relations betweenIndiaandQatar.