NEW DELHI, 16 April 2005 — India and Qatar yesterday said they were planning to forge a strategic partnership to boost two-way investments and the supply of natural gas from the Gulf emirate. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, yesterday wrapped up three days of talks with Indian leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which both sides described as “comprehensive and fruitful.”
Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani said Doha would in May send a high-powered delegation for further talks with energy-hungry India.
“Although there is a decision on a strategic partnership we are studying it now to see what kind of partnership we can have because we just don’t want to promise something,” he told a news conference.
Qatar, which boasts the world third’s largest gas reserves, agreed in 1999 to deliver to India 7.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually for 25 years. The first shipments arrived at the start of 2004 in northwestern Gujarat state, which is to take five million tons. LNG receiving capacity at Gujarat’s Dahej terminal is being doubled to 10 million tons. Talks are under way between Qatar’s state-run Rasgas and Petronet for a second phase covering 2.5 million tons a year to the southern state of Kerala.
The deputy premier also said a deal for Doha to sell India 12 of its used French-built Mirage 2000 jets had been finalized, but disclosed no details.
India’s air force flies the Dassault Aviation fighters and signed a deal in September 2000 to buy 10 new planes to replace aircraft lost out of a 1985 order of 49 Mirages.
India announced plans to buy 126 jet fighters to bolster its fleet by five squadrons in the next 15 years. It is considering a number of potential suppliers, including Russia’s MiG-29K, Dassault’s Mirage-2005 5, the Grippen from Saab, a British-Swedish consortium, and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and F-18. India and Qatar also signed a bilateral air services pact to improve connectivity.
