Qatar has big investment plans for India: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

DOHA: In his first-ever interview to any publication in the world, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, told TOI on the eve of his summit with Narendra Modi - the PM's first with a leader of the Arab world - that his energy-rich country wanted to invest big in India.

Expressing interest in Modi's `Make in India' initiative, the 34-year-old Sand hurst-trained Emir, who took over the reins of the world's richest country (by per capita GDP) from his father in 2013, said, “The new government is taking a number of interesting initiatives. We trust the Indian economy . So we will invest in India.“

Through the Qatar Investment Authority, he holds significant stakes in such blue-chip corporations as Harrods, Barclays and Sainsbury; he also owns the famed Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, and controversially won the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.

Investment and international security will dominate Wednesday's talks in New Delhi between Qatar and India. Qatar supplies an overwhelming share of India's natural gas needs, but Sheikh Tamim is keen to move the relationship beyond just energy.

He said he wanted to start a security conversation with India. Qatar, which is playing a pivotal role in international affairs as it presides over reconciliation talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan-supported Taliban, finds itself at the intersection of some of the world's biggest security challenges and investment opportunities.