India and Qatar to establish joint commission to review bilateral matters

India and Qatar on Monday decided to establish a joint commission to regularly review all the bilateral matters, as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest.

A joint declaration to establish the joint commission between the two nations was released during the ongoing first visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Qatar.

The inter-ministerial High Level Joint Committee will be tasked to strengthen the relations between the two countries particularly in the economic, commercial, cultural, scientific, technological, information technology and educational fields, the ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The commission will be responsible for following up the implementation of the agreements concluded between the two countries and finding suitable solutions for the resulting problems of the implementation thereof.

"Facilitating the exchange of information and expertise and encouraging bilateral consultation in service of cooperation between the two countries," the statement said.

The joint commission will be co-chaired by the Ministers of External Affairs and Foreign Affairs of the two countries or their representatives and may include in its membership representatives of the sectors concerned with the bilateral cooperation in both the countries.

The JC will also hold a meeting at a time agreed by both countries alternately in each country. Extraordinary session may be held at the consent of both the countries.

"The joint commission may, when necessary, form subordinate committees or permanent or temporary joint working groups to discharge specific tasks within their mandates," the statement said.

"These subordinate committees and joint working groups will present their recommendations to the Joint Commission for consideration," it added.

The draft agenda for each meeting will be decided by consultation between the two countries through diplomatic channels in advance of the respective meeting.

The scope of cooperation under this joint declaration may be modified with mutual written consent of both the countries.

India and Qatar share millennia old historic multi-dimensional, relations.

The bilateral visit of the Emir of Qatar in March 2015 and Prime Minister of Qatar Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani to India in December 2016 and that of the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Qatar in June 2016 have further boosted traditionally cordial and close ties between the two countries, the MEA said.

Qatar hosts about seven lakh Indians who form the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country. Qatar is a reliable energy partner, supplying more than 50 per cent of India's natural gas imports, it said.

Swaraj's next leg of visit would be to Kuwait with which India has close and friendly bilateral relations.