PM Modi holds talks with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Doha (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani with a focus on shoring up bilateral ties, days after Qatar freed eight former Indian Navy personnel who were sentenced to death after being arrested in August 2022.
Modi arrived in this Qatari capital city last night after concluding a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Shortly after his arrival, Modi met Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Abdulrahman is Qatar's foreign minister as well.
"The two leaders exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation in sectors such as trade, investment, energy, finance, and technology," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
"They also discussed recent regional developments in West Asia and emphasized the importance of upholding peace and stability in the region and beyond," it said.
Following the meeting, the Qatari prime minister hosted a dinner for Modi.
The Indian prime minister's second visit to Qatar came days after Qatar released the Indians.
The Navy veterans were on October 26 given death sentences by Qatar's Court of First Instance. The Court of Appeal in the Gulf nation on December 28 commuted the capital punishment and sentenced them to jail terms for varying durations.
In December, Prime Minister Modi met the Qatari Amir on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai and discussed the "well-being of the Indian community" in Qatar.
The former Indian Navy personnel apparently faced charges of espionage, but neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against them public.
The trade and energy ties between India and Qatar are on an upswing.
Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, accounting for over 48 per cent of India's global LNG imports.
India's Petronet has renewed a contract to buy 7.5 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar annually from 2029 for 20 years and it is being billed as the largest-ever extension of super-chilled fuel in the world.
The original 25-year deal was signed in 1999 and supplies started in 2004.
India-Qatar cooperation has been steadily growing in diverse sectors over the last few years.
PM Modi paid his first visit to Doha in June, 2016.
The visit provided an opportunity to both sides to engage at the highest level and impart fresh momentum to the bilateral ties. It was the highest-level visit from India to Qatar since the visit of then prime minister Manmohan Singh in November 2008.
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Brittas urges Parliament resolution on Iran conflict, recalls Vajpayee-era Iraq war motion
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) MP John Brittas on Tuesday cited Parliament's 2003 unanimous resolution under then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee condemning the Iraq war, to urge the government to move a similar motion on the Iran conflict.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during zero hour, Brittas called for a "united and unanimous voice" of Parliament against what he described as unilateral and illegal wars by the US and Israel on Iran, saying India should not remain silent.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in the Lok Sabha on Monday, he said key economic concerns and diaspora issues were raised but there was no reference to the broader conflict, which he said warranted a clear position from India.
"What was missing was the silence on this unilateral, immoral, illegal war that has been unleashed by the United States and Israel," he said.
The Prime Minister, he said, called for a unanimous and united voice from the Parliament.
Addressing chairman C P Radhakrishnan who was a member of the Lok Sabha in 2003, he said at that time, both the Houses of Parliament when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, passed joint, unanimous resolution condemning the war against Iraq by the United States.
"I wish that Indian Parliament, as the Prime Minister said, should express unanimously a united voice," he said. "Let the government bring a resolution which should be passed by both the Houses."
Brittas said India has termed the attacks on Gulf countries by Iran as egregious.
"But what about the genesis of this crisis?" he asked. "I wish that the government does not go by the advice of (Congress leader) Shashi Tharoor who said that silence is statecraft. I wish that they should be guided by the advice from (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge not from Shahi Tharoor."
Kharge has repeatedly demanded an immediate short-duration discussion on the Iran war and its fallout on India.
"I wish that India, being a leader of the non-alignment nations, should feel that silence is not a solution. We have to make sure that our voice is heard. And it is not only for the selfish interest of the nation but for the interest of the larger humanity. So I call on the government to come with a resolution," Brittas said.
He also flagged concerns over Indians affected by the situation, including around 700 seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, and urged the government to put in place a mechanism to facilitate communication with their families.
Brittas sought a rehabilitation package for Gulf returnees, highlighting the scale of remittances to India and their importance to Kerala's economy.
Kerala gets almost Rs 2.2 lakh crore - one third of the state's gross domestic product - in remittances, he said.
Prime Minister Modi in his address in Lok Sabha on Monday talked about economic fall out of the war in Iran, disruptions in supply chain, impact on daily lives of people, serious situation on the LPG front and the condition of the Indian diaspora but was silent on military strikes launched by the US and Israel on Iran on February 28, which triggered a wider conflict in the region.
