PM Modi arrives in Doha after 8 Navy veterans freed

PM Modi arrives in Doha after 8 Navy veterans freed

In a tweet, PM Narendra Modi said he was looking forward to what he called a "fruitful" visit to Qatar. 

"Landed in Doha. Looking forward to a fruitful Qatar visit which will deepen India-Qatar friendship," he said.

Days after Qatar released eight Navy veterans who were jailed on espionage charges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Doha. He met with his Qatari counterpart and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, energy and finance.

PM Modi was received by State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi at the airport. During the two-day visit, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

"Giving a fillip to the historic and deep-rooted bonds with Qatar! PM @narendramodi arrives on a visit to Doha. Received by State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi at the airport. Wide-ranging talks with Qatari leadership on strengthening bilateral partnership lies ahead," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X.

After landing in Doha, PM Modi met with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and held "fruitful" discussions on expanding bilateral cooperation in sectors such as trade and investment, energy, finance, among others, Jaiswal said.

Tweeting about his "wonderful" meeting with his Qatari counterpart, PM Modi said both sides discussed ways to boost the friendship between the two countries.

Later, PM Modi tweeted that he received an "exceptional welcome" from the Indian community in Doha.

PM Modi arrived in Qatar following his successful visit to the UAE, where he inaugurated the country's first Hindu temple, the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir and addressed the mega 'Ahlan Modi event'.  Prime Minister Modi last visited Qatar in 2016. Qatar's Emir paid a visit to India in 2015.

In 2023, India and Qatar marked 50 years of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between both countries.

In August 2022, Qatar's intelligence agency arrested eight Indian nationals in Doha, who worked with a private company, Dahra Global, in the alleged espionage case. No charges were made against them publicly by Qatar or India.

The Qatari authorities accused them of spying on a submarine and sent them to jail. In November 2023, the Indian government filed an appeal against the death sentence at a higher court in Qatar, media reports say.

The next month, Modi met Qatar’s Emir on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on December 1. It is believed that this interaction may have prompted a change of position among the Qatari authorities on the death sentence case. Subsequently, a Qatari court reversed the death penalty of the eight Navy veterans in the Dahra Global case. The death sentence was reduced to jail terms.

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Kirti Patil comments from Pune::: 

There was frantic discussion on our WhatsApp group since the day the eight navy veterans were given death sentence in Qatar. One of our classmate, who was unfamiliar with the issue suggested if we all could pitch in for Saurabh Vashishth and try to get his release.  

Myself including one who is of the rank of air commodore, who has office in South Block explained this was not something we could do at our level. Government  departments at the highest level had to step in. 

The childish enthusiasm had to be arrested. We shared newspaper links about the death penalty news and the background of the issue with The one who suggested we should do something. He finally understood the gravity of the situation. Wait and watch that's what we suggested him.

 It was another coincidence that admin of our group had a good job in Qatar, but  something broke in him and he quit his job in Qatar and shifted lock stock and barrel to Pune. That the Qatari Emir decided to pardon all was a respite for all Indians and us specially as our classmate was returning back. 

Our group began flooding  with messages since early this morning.  But one question everyone had was why only seven returned to India where was the eighth detainee.  Our group admin came to help with right  answer.  

The eighth person's travel documentation couldn't be made as he wasn't sure whether he wanted to return to India since his immediate family is now settled in the United States. 

In the cases where Indian national is jailed in foreign country every returnee is debriefed by authorities on landing on the home soil, which would have become difficult if the eighth person was to take flight to the USA.

Still our efforts are on to get in touch with Saurabh Vashishth and give him a grand welcome whenever it would be possible. 🙏🏻

Today when 7 of them landed, thankfully one of them was Saurabh Vashisht. He was quite composed and gentle while responding to the journo. Really he had not changed a bit from his school days !

It was after 35 years I saw him, Albeit ion TV, I felt time passed but he still had  the same looks and appearance as he was in 1986.

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