New Delhi: The Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting between India and Qatar on trade issues is going to be held this week, which would work out ways and means to enhance bilateral trade by identifying and removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, including regulatory obstacles, in the bilateral exchange of goods and services, reported The Hindu Businessline.
This comes after a February meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani,ย inย Doha, whereby bilateral cooperationย inย sectors likeย trade, investments, energy, finance, and technology was agreed.
ย “India wants to use the JWG meeting, led by senior officials from both sides, to initiate measures that would increase the countryโs exports to Qatar in order to lower the trade gap with the country. The Commerce Department recently took inputs from various industry sectors for the agenda to push for at the meeting,” a source familiar with the matter told Businessline.
Inย 2023-24,ย Indiaโs imports fromย Qatarย amountedย toย $12.3 billion, while its exports were $1.7 billion, resultingย inย aย tradeย gap of $10.68 billion. During the fiscal year,ย Qatarย ranked asย Indiaโs 23rd largest trading partner.
Theย India-Qatarย JWG meetingย onย July 10 is also notable as Freeย Tradeย Agreement (FTA) negotiations betweenย Indiaย and the Gulf Coordination Committee (GCC) countriesโincluding Saudi Arabia, UAE,ย Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrainโhave yetย toย gain momentum.
“Withย Qatarย imposing a 5 per cent import dutyย onย most goods, from textilesย toย food products, reducing tariffs would make Indian exports more competitive. While theย India-GCC FTA might take time, New Delhi can attemptย toย persuadeย Qatarย toย lower import duties through bilateral talks,” an industry representative stated.
Imports fromย Indiaย toย Qatar, with the help of direct shipping lines from Indian portsย toย Qatar, have shown some improvementย inย the past decade. However, there is still substantial scope for further expansions, an informed source said.
