New Delhi [India], February 18 : Dr R Seetharaman, Former CEO of Doha Bank and SSDD President, emphasized the growing economic relationship between Qatar and India, highlighting trade expansion, investment opportunities, and the potential impact of the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and India.
In an exclusive conversation, Dr Seetharaman noted that India and Qatar share a dynamic and rapidly growing economic partnership. He said, "It's an excellent relationship. It's a growing relationship. Today, the bilateral relationship between Qatar and India is over USD 18.4 billion. USD16.8 billion is the import of oil, gas, and petrochemicals."
He added, "Over $2 billion is on the export from India to Qatar. India is also exporting plant, machineries, apparels. We have over 840,000 Indians working in Qatar. It's a very important relationship," he stated.
He further emphasized that this relationship is set to expand across multiple sectors, including trade, investments, and financial services.
He said, "Trade, investments, banking and finance, it is going to grow in all dimensions in the coming days. India is the only country which is exceedingly well-performing. We are talking about GDP growth of not less than 6.5 to 7 per cent for another 20 years."
"So essentially, we have investment projects, infrastructure creation, airport, seaport, road, and rail; that's where Qatar can invest. India is a country which is giving a very good return," he added.
Highlighting India's stable economic environment, Dr Seetharaman stressed that India provides an attractive return on investment due to its financial, political, and economic stability, coupled with a large, skilled workforce.
"So Gulf States can play a big role and FDA should be the way and trade and investment can go together," he asserted.
According to Dr Seetharaman, India and Qatar have the potential to scale up their bilateral trade volume to USD 25 billion over the next two to three years.
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