Naidu noted that there has been a steady increase in the number of registered Indian businesses in Qatar which has crossed 15,000, according to details released by the Vice President’s Secretariat on Monday….reports Asian Lite News
Lauding the India-Qatar economic partnership, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called for building an enabling environment and forging more collaborations for mutual benefit.
He referred to the special relationship that evolved over centuries and suggested further enriching the robust partnership and diversifying the trade basket, which is currently dominated by energy products.
Addressing Qatari businesspersons during the India-Qatar Business Forum in Doha, Qatar, Vice President Naidu expressed happiness that India and Qatar had touched a new milestone of USD 15 billion bilateral trade in 2021-22.
He noted that there has been a steady increase in the number of registered Indian businesses in Qatar which has crossed 15,000, according to details released by the Vice President’s Secretariat on Monday.
He observed that there has also been an increase in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Qatar to India in the recent years.
Vice President Naidu highlighted the achievements of India in recent years and said that “epicentre of growth has shifted from the West to the Asia Region, and India has emerged as one of the strong drivers of this growth”.
On this occasion, the Vice President launched the “India-Qatar Start Up bridge” that aims to link the start-up ecosystems of the two countries.
Underlining that India has been fostering an environment of innovation, he noted that India has emerged as the 3rd largest ecosystem for startups globally, with over 70,000 registered Startups. India is home to 100 unicorns with a total valuation of over US$ 300 billion, Vice President Naidu added.
Look West Policy
During his last leg of a three-nation tour, Vice President Naidu addressed the members of the Indian diaspora in Doha on Monday.
“India-Qatar ties have progressed since PM Modi motivated the ‘Look West’ policy. He has taken a personal interest in engaging with the Qatar leadership,” he said during the interaction with the Indian community.
He also addressed members of the business community at India-Qatar Business Forum during his visit and highlighted the strength of the ties as he called for building an enabling environment and forging more collaborations for mutual benefit.
As a part of his visit,Vice President Naidu who is on the last leg of his three-country visit launched the “India-Qatar Start-Up bridge” to link the start-up ecosystems of the two countries at the India-Qatar Business Forum on Sunday while he also visited the Qatar National Museum in Doha.
The Vice President highlighted the exchanges that paved the way for a special relationship between both the countries which has evolved over centuries through people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
“We have now a very robust India-Qatar economic partnership and it is getting enriched with each passing day,” he said, adding that bilateral trade between India and Qatar has seen steady progress.
The Vice President said Qatar Investment Authority has committed investments of over USD 2 billion in Indian companies in the last two years.
During this visit, the Vice President is being accompanied by Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Sushil Kumar Modi, Member of Parliament, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Member of Parliament, P. Raveendranath, Member of Parliament and senior officials from the Vice President’s Secretariat and the Ministry of External Affairs.