Swaraj arrives in Qatar on 1st leg of two-nation visit

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Sunday to take forward discussions and decisions for strengthening India's relationship with Qatar.

Swaraj, who is here on the first leg of her four-day visit to Qatar and Kuwait, will interact with her Qatari counterpart and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that this is the first-ever visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) to Doha.

"EAM will call on the Emir of Qatar, hold delegation-level talks with her counterpart and interact with the Indian diaspora," he said in a tweet.

Swaraj will call on Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

Swaraj will also interact with the Indian community in Doha during her two-day stay on October 28 and 29, it said.

This is Swaraj's first visit as External Affairs Minister to Qatar, it said.

The visit is in pursuit of India's objective of enhanced engagement with the Gulf region which is in India's extended neighbourhood, the MEA said.

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 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 there. Qatar is a reliable energy partner, supplying more than 50 per cent of India's natural gas imports, it said.

India's bilateral trade with Qatar in 2017-18 was USD 9.9 billion, the MEA said.

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