The Arabian Kingdom of Qatar is looking at scaling up its economic partnership with India. During the ongoing visit of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani to Delhi, both sides discussed how the Arabian Kingdom can use its sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority to invest in railways, defence and infra sectors.
Both sides are learnt to have also talked about strategic issues, including the recent incidents in Yemen and the rising threat of ISIL in the Middle East.
The one area that the Qatar government is keen on entering is the Indian aviation space and Qatar Airways has been exploring joint ventures with Indian carriers. The airline is particularly keen on tying up with India's most profitable carrier IndiGo.
Meanwhile, according to sources, SpiceJet has now reached out to Qatar airways to be an investor in the beleaguered airline. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said the company will like to invest in IndiGo. He said they are not interested in any other company but IndiGo.
Baker concluded saying that the India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy suits them but the country’s aviation policy doesn’t. “They (India) are closing the door on very important economic tool of India and this is an airline. No leaders economic vision can be achieved without opened air services and regulated frequencies,” he concluded.
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