Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Doha, capital of Qatar on February 14 after concluding his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates. The announcement of his visit to the Gulf nation comes close on the heels of the release of the eight former Indian Navy personnel on Feb 12, 2024. While seven out of eight are back the remaining one personnel is expected to be back soon.
Briefing the media persons ahead of PM Modi’s visit to the UAE, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said Prime Minister Modi had personally supervised developments in the case.
Agenda in Qatar
According to the foreign secretary, bilateral talks between the two leaders will take place during the visit which will be focused on the expansion and deepening of ties.
Release of the Eight former Indian Navy Personnel
All the eight have been released. Seven have returned 46 days after their death sentences handed last October were commuted to jail terms of varying duration.
Charges?
Still unknown. Based on reports in the public domain they faced charges of espionage. However, neither New Delhi nor Qatar made the charges public.
To a question about the eight ex-naval personnel, the former secretary Kwatra said: “We are gratified by Qatar’s decision to release the Indians. PM Modi personally supervised developments in the case.”
“After completing his UAE visit on February 14, the PM will travel to Doha on February 14 afternoon. During the visit, PM Modi will hold bilateral talks with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad, the Emir of Qatar, and high dignitaries in Qatar.”
“This will be PM Modi’s second visit to Qatar. The current bilateral trade between the two countries stands at US$ 20 billion,” the foreign secretary said.
PM Modi’s personal supervision
Speaking at a press conference here, Kwatra also announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Qatar this week after concluding his UAE trip where he will inaugurate the BAPS Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi. “We are grateful for their return. We deeply appreciate the decision of Qatar’s government and the Emir to release them. We are happy to have seven of those Indian nationals back,” the Foreign Secretary said during the presser of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Kwatra said the eighth Indian national has also been released and India continues to work with the Qatar government to see how quickly his return to India would be possible. “Prime Minister has himself personally constantly supervised all the developments in this case and has never shied away from any initiatives that would ensure the return of Indian nationals back to home,” he added.
PM Modi’s visit comes amid reports that the early December talks in Dubai between him and the Emir of Qatar set the ball rolling for the release of eight Indian Navy veterans.
About other prisoners in the UAE, Qatar and other countries
When asked about the number of Indian people in jail in UAE, Qatar, and other places, the Foreign Secretary said, “The Indian government has lots of ways to talk and discuss with the Indian system and the systems in those countries.” He said one important job is to keep trying to get all the Indian people out of jail early, no matter which country they’re in. “There are also ways and systems in place to make sure that these prisoners get help from the government whenever possible. These are systems that have been made much stronger and expanded a lot,” he added.