Dr Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Hypermarket Group in Qatar, met with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at the Sheraton Hotel yesterday. Althaf said the minister’s visit represents another significant milestone in the “historically deep and continuous relationship” between Qatar and India. After meeting the minister, along with a group of business leaders from Qatar, Althaf said, “Qatar, like India, is going through a massive diversification of its economy. We have seen the bilateral trade between the two countries experiencing a phenomenal growth, but the nature of investments and trade has not changed very significantly, reflecting the growing diversification of Qatar and India economies. Today, Qatar has one of the most highly-educated populations in the region, the highest GDP per capita in the world, a thriving, diversified economy, and some of the finest ecosystem for a knowledge-based economy. Qatar has built a world-class infrastructure for smart manufacturing and exports. All these developments offer massive opportunities for Indian companies; Indian conglomerates can take the advantage of favourable rules and ease of doing business here to make Qatar a hub for their global expansion. I believe that relations between Qatar and India are mature enough to take a qualitative leap and move towards a strategic partnership that is able to provide mutual benefits.”