India, Qatar aim to double bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2030: Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal on October 6 held discussions with Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, Qatar's minister of commerce and industry

India and Qatar are likely to decide on doubling their bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2030 from the current $14 billion, Union minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal said during his maiden visit to Doha for the initiation of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

The minister also stated that a trade deal with Qatar could be finalised by mid next year or the third quarter of 2026. The terms of reference of the proposed FTA are still under discussion and is likely to be finalised this week. For this, Goyal on October 6 held discussions with Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, Qatar's minister of commerce and industry.

“The discussions were about swiftly launching the FTA negotiations. The talks will be fast-tracked as soon as the terms of reference are finalised. I would think that sometime by the middle of next year, or third quarter of next year, we will be able to finalise an FTA, if not earlier,” Goyal told reporters in Doha.

Talking about boosting trade between the two countries, Goyal said despite bilateral trade standing at around $14 billion, “both leaders recognized significant untapped potential of doubling bilateral trade by 2030”.

“Promising sectors boosting trade could be electronics, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, processed food, textiles, gems and jewellery, IT, and emerging high-tech industries and solar energy,” Goyal said, while also underscoring the importance of greater business interactions.

In February this year, Qatar announced its commitment to invest $10 billion in India as well as have its sovereign fund open an office in the South Asian nation. However, no timeline of the investment has been stated yet.

Goyal said that commitment is on track. “They have already invested $4-5 billion in India. Another $1-1.5 billion is already in the pipeline where they are looking at opportunities and are in almost finalisation stage,” he said.

India is exploring an FTA with Qatar to secure alternative export markets and cushion its exporters from rising tariff pressures in the US. Through the proposed FTA, India plans to diversify its trade with Qatar which currently is heavily skewed toward energy imports.

India's goods exports to Qatar in FY25 were about $1.7 billion while imports were $12.5 billion, with petroleum crude and gas products accounting for nearly 90 percent of the imports.

Qatar is an important trading partner of India in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with bilateral trade of over $14.15 billion in 2024-25.

GCC members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

India already has a trade pact with the UAE. A similar deal is likely to be signed with Oman soon.