Qatar, an important member of the Saudi Arabia-led Sunni Arab alliance, is also an active supporter of the US-led campaigns in the region. It also hosts a Taliban office in Doha.
In 1930, famous poet Iqbal visualised Tehran becoming the Geneva of the East. The Swiss city was then the headquarters of the League of Nations. Of late, New Delhi is turning to be a centre for international diplomatic engagements, with the city on Saturday hosting the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of arch-rivals Qatar and Iran – Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and Mohammad Javad Zarif, respectively.
Qatar, an important member of the Saudi Arabia-led Sunni Arab alliance, is also an active supporter of the US-led campaigns in the region. It also hosts a Taliban office in Doha. Iran, the only Shia Muslim country in the world, disagrees with almost everything with Arab Gulf states, ranging from Opec's oil production to the US role in the region as well as conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Both the visiting dignitaries spoke about ways to curb terrorism. During the bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sheikh Abdullah talked about enhancing cooperation and agreed on a joint action to tackle money-laundering and terrorist financing.
Later, Zarif anaylsed the fight against terrorism and ways to curb the global menace of extremism. His punchline was to introspect within and provide a vent to dissents and frustrations through democratic means — a panacea for terrorism. He also asked for giving the youth the hope for a better future to prevent them from ending up as suicide bombers.
He described alienation and deprivation as the root cause of radicalisation, blaming the big powers for creating a monster through their policies. "We are paying the price for the misplaced perception that Cold War was won by the West," said Zarif. Speaking on issues like Syria, he said time is long gone for any imposed solution in Syria. He hinted that his country would support an inclusive government to end the conflict in the region.
Referring to Iran's commitment to develop trade with India, he said Chabahar marks an excellent venue for cooperation with India and Afghanistan. The Iranian Foreign Minister is accompanied by a 38-member delegation from his country's Chamber of Commerce, 15 knowledge-based companies and eight trade banks to participate in the Heart of Asia (HoA) conference. He stopped in Delhi to address a gathering of strategic experts on way to Amritsar.
Earlier, at the swanky Hyderabad House, India and Qatar signed five agreements on visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic, special and official passports, technical cooperation in cyber space and crime, letters of intent on e-visas for businessmen and tourists, and an MoU between the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy of Qatar and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Another MoU for greater collaboration in port management was also signed.
Modi said the visit of the Qatari Prime Minister showed the growing bilateral ties with Qatar, which India has always regarded as a "valued partner". On energy cooperation, Modi said: "We should go beyond the buyer-seller relationship to include joint ventures, research and development and exploration. "Indian companies are ready to invest in both upstream and downstream projects in the hydrocarbon sector," he said.
Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, accounting for 66 per cent of the total imports in 2015-16. The Qatari leader invited India to participate in infrastructure and investment development in his country, ahead of the FIFA World Cup in 2022. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also called on the Qatar PM. The visa pact allows holders of diplomatic, special and official passport holders of the two countries to visa-free travel between the two countries.
The 'protocol on technical cooperation in cyber space and combating cyber crime' will add an important dimension to bilateral technical cooperation to the existing agreement signed in 2008.
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