India, Qatar to share intel to combat hawala, terror financing

Qatar, JUNE 6 : Modi was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at the Emiri Diwan, the seat of power of Qatar’s ruler, that was followed by official bilateral talks between the two leaders.

“The full splendour of an Arab welcome as PM @narendramodi receives ceremonial honours at Emiri Diwan in Doha,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted along with a photo.

At the outset, Modi personally extended greetings to the Emir, who celebrated his 36th birthday two days back. The Prime Minister had called him on that day to convey the greetings over phone.
“Final bilateral engagement is an important meeting with the Father Emir of Qatar. PM @narendramodi calls on him at Old Emiri Diwan,” he said in another tweet, referring to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani who announced his abdication as leader of the gas-rich Gulf state in June 2013 following which Sheikh Tamim became the Emir.

Earlier, at his first engagement of the day, Modi addressed 20 top Qatri business leaders. Highlighting India’s “investment-friendly policies”, he invited them to “grab” the vast opportunities for business, especially in the infrastructure sector, while promising to remove “bottlenecks” identified by them.

Qatar’s business community had some questions related to rules and and clearances, to which Modi said his government had changed rules and norms to enable easier Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in a number of sectors, sources said.

He specifically mentioned sectors like railways, defence, manufacturing and food processing. He also spoke about the big opportunity existing in the tourism sector.

The Prime Minister told them that his government will continue to work for easing the norms and rules further to make it more easier to do business in India.

Qatar is an important trading partner for India in the Gulf region with bilateral trade in 2014-15 standing at USD 15.67 billion. It is also one of India’s key sources of crude oil.

While landing here yesterday, Modi had said India attaches great priority to strong ties with Qatar and that his visit seeks to expand the bilateral ties further.

The Prime Minister has been focusing on improving ties with the Gulf region which is crucial for India’s energy security. He has already visited United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Modi’s foreign policy gaining currency worldwide: BJP

IANS adds: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said Modi’s foreign policy was being recognised and appreciated internationally.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani conferred the Amir Amanullah Khan Award on Prime Minister Modi after the inauguration of the landmark Afghan-India Friendship Dam, also called Salma Dam, in Herat province on Saturday.

“This is the second such award that our Prime Minister has received in recent weeks. This is an unique achievement. No Indian PM has received these awards,” BJP spokesman M.J. Akbar said here.

Recently, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud bestowed the King Abdulaziz award — the highest civilian honour of his country — upon the Prime Minister.

“This also marks international recognition of, and rising applause for, the architecture of Prime Minister Modi’s new foreign policy. Prime Minister Modi is creating alliances for prosperity with India as a nodal hub,” Akbar said.

“These awards are, equally, recognition of PM Modi’s foreign policy as a force for peace and stability in a region marked by sustained turbulence,” he added.

Modi is currently on a five-nation tour that takes him to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico.