Qatar reaches out to India as move to restore ties with Iran infuriates UAE

Qatar Foreign Minister visits New Delhi, meets Sushma, Modi

Qatar has reached out to India even as its latest move to restore full diplomatic relations with Iran further infuriated Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Qatar's Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, visited New Delhi on Friday and Saturday and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also had meetings with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Prime Minister's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Doha reached out to New Delhi even as the United Arab Emirates angrily reacted to Qatar's decision to restore full diplomatic relations with Iran and send its ambassador back to Tehran. The move is likely to irk Saudi Arabia too.

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt had severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in June. They accused Qatar of supporting extremism and terrorism. Yemen and Maldives too joined them later.

Riyadh, which led the move against Doha, is upset over Qatar's growing ties with Iran, the main rival of Saudi Arabia in the region.

Sheikh Mohammed on Saturday briefed Swaraj and the Prime Minister on Doha's position on the current crisis in the Gulf region. Swaraj conveyed to the Qatari Foreign Minister that “terrorism, violent extremism and religious intolerance” posed a “grave threat not only to regional stability but also to global peace and order”.

She also conveyed to him India's view that the parties (Qatar and its neighbours) should resolve “their differences through a process of constructive dialogue and peaceful negotiations”.

Sheikh Mohamed conveyed Doha's appreciation for the contribution of the 6,30,000 strong Indian community, which forms the largest expatriate group in Qatar.

He assured Swaraj of the continued safety, welfare and well-being of the Indian community. He also briefed her about new labour laws in Qatar, which favour expatriate workers, including the ones from India, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press-release.

Qatari Foreign Minister called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to hand over a letter from the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Qatar had in January 2016 severed its diplomatic relations with Iran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh had severed diplomatic ties with Iran after a mob attacked Saudi Arabian mission in Tehran following the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in the kingdom.

But Qatar's relations with Saudi Arabia and UAE worsened over the past one-and-a-half years.

With over eight million of its citizens living and working in the Gulf Arab countries; India has been treading cautiously after Saudi Arabia and UAE led several other nations to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

New Delhi is keen to make sure that its growing ties with all countries on both sides of the divide in the region remain unhurt. India is also worried about possible implications of the crisis on its energy and economic relations with Saudi Arabia and UAE on one side and Qatar and Iran on the other.

Swaraj on Saturday thanked Sheikh Mohammed for the significant contribution of Qatar to the energy security of India.

Qatar is the largest supplier of Liquefied Natural Gas to India. Sheikh Mohammed assured Swaraj of “continued Qatari support” to India through “uninterrupted energy supplies”.