India, Qatar elevate ties to 'strategic partnership'

NEW DELHI

India and Qatar on Tuesday elevated bilateral relations to "strategic partnership," according to a statement from the Indian Foreign Ministry.

This came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for bilateral talks in the capital Delhi.

Al Thani is on a two-day state visit to India, the first since 2015.

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X that the two leaders held wide-ranging talks and they decided to elevate relations to a strategic partnership with a focus on “trade, energy, investments, innovation, technology, food security, culture and people-to-people ties.”

The bilateral trade between the South Asian giant and the Gulf nation climbed to around $15 billion last year.

Al Thani and Modi also exchanged views on “regional and global issues of mutual interest," the spokesperson said.

Earlier, Indian President Droupadi Murmu accorded a ceremonial welcome to Al Thani at the presidential house in New Delhi.