India seeks investments from Qatar in infra, energy sectors

December 3, 2016

New Delhi, Dec 3: India on Saturday sought investments from Qatar in the infrastructure and energy sectors as the two sides signed four agreements, including on visas and cyber security.

modi

During delegation-level talks here led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Qatari counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the two sides reviewed bilateral relations in depth, in particular on the follow-up of the important decisions taken during Modi's visit to Qatar in June this year.

Sources here said the two leaders discussed cooperation in various sectors and acknowledged that the current level of trade and investment was much below potential.

"Prime Minister Modi highlighted the tremendous opportunities available for Qatari investment in India's infrastructure and energy sectors," a source said.

"He outlined the various measures taken by his government to open up the Indian economy and welcome FDI."

Modi and Al Thani also identified civil aviation as a priority sector for enhancing cooperation.

According to the sources, Modi mentioned that India imported eight million tonnes of urea per year and said that a long term arrangement with Qatar for the supply of urea would be welcome.

India could also meet Qatari needs in the area of food security, he said.

On his part, the Qatari Prime Minister invited India's participation in infrastructure and investment opportunities coming up ahead of the FIFA World Cup in that Gulf nation in 2022.

He also welcomed Indian investment in the port sector of Qatar.

"On energy cooperation, Prime Minister Modi said that we should go beyond the buyer-seller relationship to include joint ventures, joint research and development and joint exploration," the source said.

Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, accounting for 66 percent of the total imports in 2015-16.

Modi, it is learnt, said that Indian companies were ready to invest in both upstream and downstream projects in Qatar in the hydrocarbon sector.

The two leaders discussed enhancing cooperation in defence and security, in cyber security in particular, and agreed on joint action to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing.

The security situation in Iraq, Syria and Yemen also came up for discussion.

Following the delegation-level talks, four agreements were signed by the two sides.

One agreement allows holders of diplomatic, special and official passports of the two countries visa-free travel between the two countries.

A protocol on technical cooperation in cyber space and combating cyber crime was signed between the Ministry of Home Affairs of India and the Ministry of Interior of Qatar.

The protocol adds an important dimension of bilateral technical cooperation in cyberspace and combating cyber crime to the existing framework agreement in the field of security signed in November 2008.

A letter of intent was signed that allows for negotiations on an agreement on grant of e-visa to businessmen and tourists of the two countries.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed between Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy of Qatar and Confederation of Indian Industry which will provide a framework for project experts for Indian companies in Qatar, including through participation in infrastructure projects in Qatar undertaken for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Another MoU was signed for encouraging greater collaboration and exchange in the field of national ports management.

Al Thani arrived here on Friday in what was the third exchange of high-level visits between Indiaand the Gulf nation in less than two years.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani visited India in March 2015 which was followed by the visit of Modi to that Gulf nation in June 2016.

Indians form the largest expatriate community in Qatar and their positive contribution in the progress and development of their host country is well recognised. There are over expatriate 630,000 Indians in Qatar.

Comments

Narayana
 - 
Sunday, 4 Dec 2016

Oh my Godse!! Idu enaithu marayarey!!!

satyameva jayte
 - 
Saturday, 3 Dec 2016

hi naren and viren.....any comments for your PM dealing with wahabi islamic countries? tum log bhi sudhar jaao.... papa enjoying...pillas troubling...

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News Network
February 10,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 10: Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar on Sunday hit out at the BJP and RSS for taking out a route march in Ramanagara against the controversial Jesus Christ statue.

“Just because the BJP won 25 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress workers need not lose hope. If the Congress and JD(S) had worked out a better strategy, the BJP would not have won even 10 seats. We will correct our mistakes,” the former Congress minister said.

After the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has failed to do well in assembly polls and has been losing power in many states. People are hitting the streets protesting against its policies such as CAA and NRC, he said.

Accusing the BJP and RSS of not being able to digest Congress’ victory in the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha segment in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he said that the BJP is trying hard to make inroads into the constituency represented by his brother D K Suresh. “Let them take out route march, we don’t care,” he said.

“We all know what the BJP did during the Lok Sabha elections, and the media reported how much money they spent in the elections. What was the Election Commission doing? Was the Income Tax Department sitting with its eyes closed? Why did they conduct raids only in Hassan, Shivamogga and Mandya districts,” he asked.

He alleged that false cases were slapped when him and other leaders, including H D Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara and Dinesh Gundurao.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 3: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu has said that a medical team is monitoring the health condition of all those people who had stayed with the coronavirus-hit techie who is admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.

The first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Telangana was reported from Hyderabad on Monday where a man from Bengaluru, who recently returned from Dubai, tested positive for the virus.

"It has come to our knowledge that the coronavirus-hit person in Hyderabad had gone from Bengaluru. Therefore, all the members in the house where he had stayed here have been identified and are under watch," Mr Sriramulu tweeted on late Monday night.

The minister said he has convened a meeting with the additional chief secretary, commissioner and other senior officials of the health department today.

"Our government has initiated all the measures to prevent the spread of this virus," the minister said.

It is learnt that the 24-year-old techie had not contracted it when he was in Bengaluru but all precautionary measures have been taken.

The software engineer, who works in Bengaluru, had worked with people from Hong Kong in Dubai last month where he is suspected to have contracted the virus, Telangana health minister E Rajender told reporters in Hyderabad.

The man reached Bengaluru on February 19/20 and later went to Hyderabad in a bus.

He took treatment for fever after coming to Hyderabad and was admitted to a private super speciality hospital in the city. As it did not subside, he came to the state-run Gandhi hospital on Sunday evening, Mr Rajender said.

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News Network
April 17,2020

Kasaragod, Apr 17: Even as this district continue to remain in the high-alert red zone category of Covid-19, Kasaragod has slowly but steadily been limping back to restraint level of the pandemic from a possible slipping into a stage-3 of community spread early this month.

Thanks to the stringent and committed measures implemented by the district administration crisscross the district besides total isolation of few localities by enforcing triple lockdown.

The district had been a Covid-19 hotspot ever since an NRI who returned from the Gulf violated quarantine protocol and travelled wide and far by meeting and contacting with several people including two MLAs of the district. That apart the irresponsible attitude of the people who broke the rules of quarantine and lockdown norms also made things go from bad to worse resulting in contributing for a near-half of the total positive cases in the state at the beginning of April.

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