New Delhi, June 29: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will pay an official visit to Qatar on Sunday (June 30), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday.

During the one-day visit, EAM Jaishankar will meet the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

"India and Qatar share historic and friendly relations which are marked by regular exchange of high-level visits. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Qatar on February 14-15, 2024, and held discussions with Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani," said MEA.

"The EAM's visit will enable both sides to review various aspects of bilateral relations including political, trade, investment, energy, security, cultural and people-to-people as well as the regional and international issues of mutual interest," the Foreign Ministry added.

During his Doha visit, Prime Minister Modi thanked the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for taking care of the over eight lakh strong Indian community in Qatar and conveyed India's commitment to further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation with the country.

The Emir reciprocated PM Modi's sentiments and expressed appreciation for India's role as a valued partner in the Gulf region.

The Emir also appreciated the contributions of the vibrant Indian community in Qatar's development and their enthusiastic participation in various international events held in Qatar.

"India-Qatar bilateral trade roughly stands at close to $20 billion and the two countries also have a multi-faceted partnership in the field of energy, which includes energy trade as also other segments of energy-supply chain contributing to a stronger partnership in the field of energy security," Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had said after the PM's visit.

In February, on the sidelines of India Energy Week held in Goa, the two countries signed an agreement for supply of 7.5 MMtpa LNG from Qatar to India for 20 years, year 2028 onwards.

This will be EAM Jaishankar's third official visit during the third term of Narendra Modi-led government. He had earlier visited Sri Lanka (June 20) and UAE (June 23).

--IANS

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