The Indian Business and Professionals Council (IBPC) Qatar, under the aegis of the Embassy of India in Qatar, recently hosted the India - Qatar Virtual Energy Conference 2026, bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, business executives, manufacturers, technology providers, consultants and service companies from India, Qatar and international markets to explore emerging opportunities within Qatar's rapidly expanding energy and industrial sectors.
The conference was inaugurated by Vipul, ambassador of India to Qatar, who highlighted the strong and growing India-Qatar relationship, recently elevated to a Strategic Partnership, and emphasised the expanding opportunities for collaboration across energy, infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and industrial development.
Delivering the keynote industry perspective, Nasser Jeham al-Kuwari, Chairman of COREINFO and former CEO of Q-Chem and Qafac, provided a strategic overview of Qatar's energy transformation and industrial growth trajectory. He highlighted Qatar's ambitious plans to expand LNG production capacity from 77mn tonnes per annum to 142mn tonnes by 2030, creating significant opportunities across engineering, manufacturing, industrial services, downstream industries and technology solutions.
Dr Rony Paul Thekkanath, Founder and CEO of PETRO-Q and Vice President of IBPC Qatar, presented a comprehensive overview of Qatar's energy ecosystem, outlining the country's oil and gas, LNG, petrochemical, utilities and industrial landscape while highlighting opportunities across the energy value chain.
Addressing market-entry requirements, Ikram Kidwai, Industry Expert and Business Consultant, shared insights into qualification processes, compliance requirements, procurement frameworks, localization initiatives and supplier expectations. He emphasized that successful market participation requires not only technical capability, but also compliance readiness, credibility, local engagement and long-term commitment.
Suresh Ramanujan, Vice-President of Emerson, focused on trade, commerce, investment and partnership opportunities arising from Qatar's ongoing energy expansion. He highlighted opportunities across engineering services, manufacturing, automation, industrial AI, digital transformation, cybersecurity, reliability engineering and sustainability initiatives.
A key message that emerged throughout the conference was that Qatar's energy sector is evolving beyond a construction-led growth story into a long-term ecosystem driven by operations, maintenance, digitalization, sustainability, localization and value creation. Participants also noted that future success will increasingly be determined by qualification, compliance, innovation, strategic partnerships and sustained market engagement rather than cost competitiveness alone.
Supported by leading Indian industry organizations including EEPC India, CII, FICCI, PHDCCI and FIEO, the conference attracted a diverse and high-quality audience representing the energy, engineering, infrastructure, manufacturing, technology and industrial services sectors.
