This article covers the diplomatic relationship between India and Qatar: its establishment, leaders' visits and conversations, the agreements signed and the dialogue mechanisms. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief dated 19 July 2026.

Establishment and strategic partnership

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, India's diplomatic relations with Qatar were established in 1973, and the year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of that step. The brief describes India as having close relations with Qatar, anchored in historical commercial ties and people-to-people contacts, and says cooperation has been steadily growing in diverse sectors.

The relationship was elevated to a "strategic partnership" during the State Visit of His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, to India in February 2025.

State Visit of the Amir, February 2025

The Amir paid a State Visit to India on 17-18 February 2025. He held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President Smt Droupadi Murmu, while the Vice President, the External Affairs Minister and the Minister of Health called on him. Both sides agreed to further expand cooperation in energy, power, petrochemicals, investments, infrastructure, education, culture, health, IT, innovation and start-ups.

Seven Agreements and MoUs were signed during the visit, in the following areas:

  • Establishment of Strategic Partnership
  • Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income
  • Financial and Economic Cooperation between Ministries of Finance
  • Cooperation in the field of Youth Affairs and Sports
  • Cooperation in the field of Documents and Archives
  • Cooperation between Invest India and Invest Qatar
  • Cooperation between Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Qatar Business Association (QBA)

Prime Minister Modi's visits to Qatar

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Qatar on 14-15 February 2024, which the brief records as his second visit to the country. He met the Amir; H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir; and the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. He thanked the Amir for taking care of the Indian community in Qatar, and both leaders expressed commitment to expanding and deepening bilateral relations.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi visited Doha on 4-5 June 2016 at the invitation of the Amir. The brief describes this as the highest-level visit from India to Qatar since the visit of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in November 2008. The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, and seven MoUs and Agreements were signed:

  • MoU for investment in National Investment and Infrastructure Fund of India
  • MoU between Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and the Qatar Financial Information Unit (QFIU)
  • MoU for Cooperation in Skill Development and Recognition of Qualifications
  • MoU for Cooperation in the field of Health
  • Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Custom Matters
  • MoU on Tourism Cooperation
  • First Executive Program for MoU in the field of Youth and Sports

Earlier visits by the Amir and the Father Amir

The Amir had paid an earlier State Visit to India in March 2015, when six Agreements and MoUs were signed in these areas:

  • Transfer of Sentenced Persons
  • Mutual Cooperation between Foreign Service Institute, MEA and Diplomatic Institute, Qatar MoFA
  • Cooperation in Information and Communication Technology
  • Cooperation in Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences
  • Cooperation in Radio and Television
  • Mutual Cooperation and Exchange of News between Qatar News Agency and United News Agency

The then Amir, H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, visited India in 1999, 2005 and 2012. The brief records that the Father Amir passed away on 12 July 2026. Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, visited Qatar on 14-15 July 2026 and met the Amir to express condolences.

Leaders' calls and meetings

The brief says Prime Minister Modi and the Amir have kept in regular touch by telephone and have met on the sidelines of multilateral forums. It lists these exchanges:

  • 16 July 2026: Prime Minister Modi called the Amir and expressed condolences on the passing of the Father Amir.
  • 23 June 2026: the Amir called Prime Minister Modi to express condolences over the death of Indian nationals in an explosion in the Ras Laffan Industrial City.
  • 3 March and 19 March 2026: calls amid the regional conflict in West Asia, in which Prime Minister Modi strongly condemned the violation of Qatar's sovereignty and territorial integrity and affirmed solidarity with Qatar.
  • 10 September 2025: a call following the Israeli attack in Doha, in which Prime Minister Modi conveyed India's condemnation of the violation of Qatari sovereignty.
  • 6 May 2025: a call following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, J&K.
  • 10 June 2024: the Amir congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his third term.
  • 1 December 2023: a meeting on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai.
  • 29 October 2022: a call in which the leaders agreed to jointly celebrate 50 years of India-Qatar diplomatic relations.
  • 23 September 2019: a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Other high-level visits

Vice President Shri M Venkaiah Naidu paid an official visit to Qatar in June 2022, meeting the then Prime Minister of Qatar, H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, and the Father Amir, and chairing an India-Qatar Business Forum. Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar visited Doha in November 2022 for the inauguration ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Qatar on 4-5 July 2026 and met Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani amid the tensions in West Asia. On 15-16 November 2025 he called on the Amir. The two ministers spoke on 28 February and 5 April 2026 about the situation amid the Iranian attacks on Qatar, on 26 June 2025 about the Iranian missile attack targeting the Al-Udeid US Airbase, and on 7 May 2025 after the Pahalgam attack.

EAM also visited Qatar on 30 December 2024-1 January 2025, on 7 December 2024 for the Doha Forum and on 30 June 2024. During a visit to Doha on 9 February 2022, he and Sheikh Mohammed, then Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, jointly laid the foundation stone for a new Chancery building on land allocated in the diplomatic enclave. He had also visited Doha in August 2021, June 2021 and December 2020.

Then Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar, H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, visited India on 2-3 December 2016. The documents signed included MoUs on Technical Cooperation in Cyber Space and Combating Cyber Crime, and between the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy of Qatar and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Separately, an MoU between Qatar Ports Management Company ("Mwani Qatar") and Indian Ports Global Private Limited was concluded.

Other visits recorded in the brief include:

  • MoS for External Affairs Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, 1-4 October 2024, for the 3rd Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit and the 2nd ACD Business Forum.
  • Shri Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, MoS for External Affairs and Education, for the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, 4-8 March 2023.
  • Shri V Muraleedhran, MoS for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, 8-10 May 2022.
  • Lok Sabha MP Ms Aparajita Sarangi, 12-15 January 2026, for the 298th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Executive Committee Meeting hosted by the Shura Council.
  • A 9-member multi-party delegation led by Lok Sabha MP Ms Supriya Sule, 24-26 May 2025, after the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
  • From Qatar, MoS for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, for the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting in New Delhi on 31 January 2026.

Foreign Office Consultations

The 5th round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) was held on 27 October 2024 in Doha, co-chaired by Secretary (CPV & OIA) of the MEA and the Secretary General of Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It reviewed the whole range of relations, from political and energy matters to consular, community and cultural aspects. The 4th FOCs were held virtually on 1 February 2021, and the 3rd in Doha in September 2018. Other mechanisms, covering trade, energy, security, health and labour, appear in the other articles.