Qatar is a Middle East Country, situated in Arabian Peninsula. Spread over 11,600 square kilometers. It is quite wealthy country due to its massive natural gas and oil reserves. A peninsula in the Persian Gulf has been occupying by the Qatar. The capital of Qatar is Doha bordered by Saudi Arabia to the South, and surrounded by the Persian Gulf on the other sides. Islam is the official religion with Sunni Majority. It has around of 2.7 Million populations; however, most of them are immigrants of Philippines, and the other South Asian countries. So that the common language is Arabic and widely spoken English.
Historically, Qatar was known for pearl diving and fishing because of its geography, economy, and lack of other resources. Earlier Qatar was not as strong as to stop attacks from Gulf Tribes of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. British protection was compulsion to save their sovereignty and dignity, due to which AI Thani, the ruling family tied with British Military. Qatari pearls were exported massively to the India and Europe, the protection of Qatar was quite beneficial for both the countries. However, in 1916 by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Jassin, Britain signed treaties by which the foreign policy and defense will be handled by the Britain and the internal affairs will be handled by the local rulers. In 1971 the country got independence.
Currently, there are no political parties in the country. However, the country maintains strong foreign relationship. Qatar is an absolute monarchy, ruled by the Emir
(currently Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani).
Qatar is the third largest natural gas preserver in the world with the highest GDP per capita in the world. The economy is driven mainly by natural gas and oil. It has the world wide airways known as the Qatar Airways. Once in 2022, the country hosted FIFA World Cup. Qatar is the first Middle East country who did so. Qatar sometimes played a major mediator in conflicts among the Middle East Countries.
Approx 1.5 Billion $ has already been invested by Qatar in India through the Major Indian Companies like Reliance Retail, Indo Space Logistics, Global Dental Services, and Shriram Housing Finance. The QIA (Qatar Investment Authority) has quoted for investment of approx 10 Billion $ in the further financial year. The said investment will be in to the multiple sectors like aviation, infrastructure, manufacturing, food security, logistics and hospitality.
LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Deal:- In February 2024 India’s Petronet LNG Limited signed a 20 year sales & Purchase Agreement which is also known as SPA. The said deal has been signed between Qatar Energy and India’s Petronet LNG Limited. Under this deal approx 7 Million tones LNG will be supplied to India from May 2028 to 2048. The LNG is expected to be taken by the company namely GAIL (60%),
Indian Oil Corporation (30%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (10%).
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas): There is no publicly ‘LPG deal’ between both the countries. However, in recent years, approx 29% of India’s total LPG imports were from Qatar.
Importation of fertilizers like urea & ammonia help India to fulfill the farm sector requirement. Imports of ethylene, propylene, polyethylene, and plastics support India’s Downstream Industries (Downstream Industries means all the industries that use crude oil, natural gas or petrochemical derivatives to make useful market-ready products. Processing & converting raw oil/ gas into the products like fuels, chemicals, plastics and fertilizers are the best examples of downstream industries).
India exports the following:-
Agricultural products: like cereals, fruits, spices, processed foods which are
Ready-to-Eat (RTE) like Packaged Curries, Biryanis, Instant Mixes (Idli, Dosa, Upma), Noodles, Soups & Basmati rice.
Industrial and manufactured products: Like Copper, Iron & Steel products, Electrical machinery, construction materials.
Textiles: Garments, chemicals (Used in Qatar’s industries, construction, and consumer goods), precious stones (having a luxury market in Qatar, India is one of the world’s top hub for gems & jewelleries), rubber (for construction, automotive, and oil & gas industries), and other machineries which are using for the purpose of supports Qatar’s infrastructure projects, oil & gas sector, and industrial growth.
India and Qatar has committed the diplomatic ties to achieve goal of doubling the bilateral trade to 28 billion $ by 2030. These two nations also finalized the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Al Udeid Air Base : U.S. military presence in Qatar at Al Udeid Air Base hosts the CENTCOM forward/ combined air operations elements, with a large USAF Unit. It is an active, enduring base where the U.S. and Qatar have invested in permanent infrastructure and force support. There atAl Udeid Air Base presence of thousands of personnel with armored tankers & aircraft shows the seriousness of the base under control of US.
In 2000, as part of US Qatar defense co-operations. Near Doha, Qatar U.S Army had prepositioned base outside of the United States. There has been having a massive deployment of heavy equipment, armored vehicles & tanks. The As Sayliyah base functioned as a logistics hub to support U.S. operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the other Gulf region. The bases and the deployment of U.S. Military during almost two decades strengthened U.S.-Qatar defense relations.
After U.S President Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariff 25% and additional tariff of 25% on Indian goods for buying Russian oil, doubling total tariff to 50%. New Delhi is accelerating efforts to deepen trade ties with other countries. However, it is said that the control on Qatari Bases by the U.S. is helpful and deters major conflicts in the Persian Gulf. India depends heavily on Gulf shipping routes for oil, gas and other energy trade. U.S. launched several operations from Al Udeid which was for the purpose of
counter-ISIS, anti-terrorism, and maritime security across West Asia. Stability in Persian Gulf will definitely reduces risks of terror that might affect India’s interests and citizens abroad. Around 7,50,000 Indians live and work in Qatar, which is the largest immigration country in the world. U.S. bases in Qatar create a security shield for energy supplies, expatriates, and regional trade routes, all of which are vital to India’s economy and strategic interests.
On 9 September 2025, Israel carried out an airstrike in Doha, Qatar, targeting a leadership meeting of Hamas negotiators. The airstrike resulted at least six deaths, including Hamas aides, the son of senior Hamas leader. Doha strongly condemned the strike, Qatari Prime Minister says, Israeli airstrikes ‘Killed any Hope’ for hostages in Gaza. Qatar was initiating peace talks between Israel and Hamas. As the same was done earlier by providing its bases during the Taliban and US war in Afghanistan. Although, diplomats say that the strike has wounded the trust between the Gulf and the US that has existed since the 1930. Consequently, the Gulf States thinking to start with Saudi Arabia, believe that their security and stability still depend on America.
If India needs to take stand on air strike, the idea of Non-Alignment becomes very useful. India’s non-aligned posture allows it not to be compelled into taking sides in U.S.-Israel versus Qatar. The U.S. will definitely expect India to lean towards Israel, but non-alignment gives option to maintain the relationship with Qatar and Israel as well.
The impositions of tariffs by the United States to all over the countries, attracts the risks of over dependency on a single power. Particularly for India, it is essential to preserve and make ties strong with the other powerful nations like China, Russia and the other Gulf Countries. As far as concern of Qatar, the bilateral trade between both the countries are essential for each other. Diversification of economy and strategic interests are required to be maintained by keeping relations strong with these countries. These types of approaches will definitely reduce the dependency to the one and only powerful country in the world. By using non-alignment and multilateral platforms like BRICS, SCO and G20, India can avoid dependency to the U.S.A. India must utilize its mindset with the both Western and the Gulf Countries for securing its own autonomy and stand firmly on its both legs.
This post was published on September 14, 2025 4:50 pm
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