DOHA: India and Qatar have decided to set up a Joint Commission to strengthen their relations and regularly review all the bilateral matters, as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The decision was taken after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and discussed ways to move forward on the roadmap set by the top leaders of the two countries.
It is the first ever visit of Swaraj to Doha. The two sides have decided to establish the Joint Commission, according to a joint declaration issued after the talks.
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, it said.
The Joint Commission will be tasked to strengthen the relations between the two countries particularly in the economic, commercial, cultural, scientific, technological, information technology and educational fields.
It will be responsible for following up the implementation of the agreements concluded between the two sides and finding suitable solutions for the resulting problems of the implementation thereof.
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. PTI
