Several Qatari companies, representing a wide range of sectors, have confirmed to participate in the forthcoming Vibrant Goa Global Expo & Summit 2019, which is to be held from October 17-19, in the southwestern Indian state of Goa.
Many Indian and Qatari companies are also expected to forge partnerships and joint ventures (JVs) to invest in India as well as Qatar, especially in the country’s fast developing free zone areas, such as Ras Bufontas and Um Alhoul, said a senior official of one of the organising partners of the global expo.
“A lot of Qatari companies from different sectors of the economy have already confirmed their participation at the upcoming Global Expo & Summit 2019. Some of them are from the maritime, logistics and aviation sectors with huge and extensive operations such as Milaha and Qatar Airways, which is also the airline partner of the event,” Anmol Modi (pictured), Senior Manager at Global Network, an Ahmedabad-based international trade advisory firm, which is one of the partners of the Vibrant Goa, told The Peninsula.
He added: “There are many complementary factors and common grounds between Qatar and Goa that can help strengthening business and investment relations. For instance, Goa is strategically located in the western coast of India, and Qatar is also strategically located in the Middle East with huge coast lines and world-class port facilities. In addition, Qatar Airways has direct daily services to Goa from Doha, which is an added advantage in terms of speedier connectivity. And also, both Qatar and Goa are diversifying their respective economies in a big way.”
Modi, who led a 12-member trade delegation to Qatar, also said that one of the objectives of visiting Qatar is that both India and Qatar are among the fastest growing economies in the world and both the countries have been enjoying very strong trade and economic relations for decades. And the two-way trade exchange has witnessed sharp and steady growth for the last few years.
“On behalf of the government of Goa, we have already submitted an invitation to Qatar Chamber, which is expected to lead a trade delegation consisting of a wide range of public and private companies to participate at the expo. This will be the first time Qatari companies will be participating in the event organised by Vibrant Goa,” noted Modi.
He reiterated that Goa is in the process of diversifying the entire economy, which is currently dominated by tourism and mining sectors. There are a lot of opportunities of investment for Qatari companies in many promising sectors of India’s richest state (per-capita basis), such as logistics, IT, pharmaceuticals, R&D, innovation, hospitality, real estate, food & agriculture and others. In addition, there are a lot of companies from Goa and other parts of India, which have already expressed their firm commitment to form JVs.
