India and Qatar Upgrade Ties to a Strategic Partnership: Trade, Investment, Tax Treaty and West Asia
India and Qatar signed an agreement raising their relationship to a Strategic Partnership. This happened during the State visit of the Amir (ruler) of Qatar to India on 17 and 18 February 2025.
The two sides set a target to double bilateral trade to about US$ 28 billion by 2030, up from about US$ 14 to 15 billion. Qatar announced plans to invest US$ 10 billion in India; its investment until then was about US$ 1.5 billion.
A revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) was signed, along with five MoUs. The MoUs covered finance ministry cooperation, youth affairs and sports, archives, and business links (Invest India with Invest Qatar, and CII with the Qatar Business Association).
The two sides agreed to explore a bilateral free trade agreement. They also exchanged views on the situation in West Asia, including the Israel-Palestine conflict and Gaza.
With this step, India now has strategic partnerships with five of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.
Energy ties are central. Qatar is one of India's biggest LNG (liquefied natural gas) suppliers, and a 2024 deal extends supply of 7.5 million tonnes a year for 20 years from 2028. About 8.35 lakh Indians live in Qatar, the country's largest expatriate group.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
The Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, is a regional group of six Arab countries on the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. They are all monarchies, rich in oil and gas, and located along the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. The GCC helps them cooperate on the economy, security, trade and people's movement. For India, the GCC is its largest trading bloc and home to around 9 to 10 million Indians.
Qatar's upgrade means India now has strategic partnerships with five of the six GCC members, with Bahrain the only one left. It fits India's strategy of building strong one-to-one ties in the Gulf while also negotiating a trade deal with the GCC as a whole.
The Two-State Solution: Origins and Legal Basis
The two-state solution is a proposal to end the Israel-Palestine conflict by creating two separate countries side by side: Israel and an independent State of Palestine. Each would have its own secure, recognised borders. It is the solution supported by the United Nations and by most countries, including India. But after many decades of talks, a Palestinian state with full control of its land has still not come into being.
India and Qatar discussed the Israel-Palestine conflict during the Amir's visit. Qatar has been a key mediator on Gaza, and India's stated policy is support for a negotiated two-state solution. For the Gulf partners India is deepening ties with, this is a central regional issue, so India's position matters to these relationships.
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)
A Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, or DTAA, is a treaty between two countries that decides which country can tax which kind of income. Without it, a person or company earning money in one country while living in another could be taxed twice on the same income. A DTAA removes or reduces this double tax, and it also helps the two tax departments share information to stop tax evasion. It makes cross-border investment and work simpler and cheaper.
The revised DTAA was among the agreements signed during the Amir's visit. Clearer tax rules support Qatar's plan to invest US$ 10 billion in India and the goal of doubling trade by 2030.
- Qatar's Amir paid a State visit to India on 17 and 18 February 2025; ties raised to a Strategic Partnership
- Trade target: double to about US$ 28 billion by 2030 (from about US$ 14 to 15 billion)
- Qatar's planned investment in India: US$ 10 billion (earlier about US$ 1.5 billion)
- Agreements signed: Strategic Partnership agreement, revised DTAA, and 5 MoUs
- Revised India-Qatar DTAA: signed 18 February 2025, in force 10 September 2025, applies in India from 1 April 2026
- QatarEnergy-Petronet LNG deal (February 2024): 7.5 million tonnes a year for 20 years from 2028
- Indians in Qatar: about 8.35 lakh (largest expatriate group)
- India's strategic partners in the GCC: Oman (2008), Saudi Arabia (2010), UAE (2017, comprehensive), Kuwait (2024), Qatar (2025)
- GCC: founded 25 May 1981, headquarters Riyadh, 6 members
- India-GCC trade 2024-25: US$ 178.56 billion; India-GCC FTA talks launched February 2026
- India recognised the State of Palestine on 18 November 1988; supports a negotiated two-state solution