Indian Minister Calls On Investors To Explore Opportunities In Rajasthan

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Joel Johnson | The Peninsula

Doha: The relations between Doha and India have been very strong and natural, said H E Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of industry and Commerce, government of Rajasthan.

Addressing the gathering in his keynote speech during the Rising Rajasthan investment Meet, the Indian official welcomed citizens and residents in Qatar to explore vibrant investment opportunities in the Indian State.

The event was attended by the Ambassador of India to Qatar, H E Vipul, and other delegates from the government and embassy along with Indian expats and Qatari investors at Sheraton Doha, yesterday.

H E Rathore said“We have been trading partners for generations and I have seen the transformation happen in Qatar and we are so proud of the government's work here.”

Rising Rajasthan - a platform connecting investors across the world is anticipated to be held from December 9 to 11, 2024. He underscored Rajasthan - the land of color, culture, tigers, warriors, palaces, and ports offers numerous opportunities across several businesses and sectors.

“India is one of the most stable and largest markets in the world. We have the fastest-growing economy in the world and not only a place of tourism but a place of beauty and business and I don't think you could ask for something better,” Rathore said.

Rajasthan, the largest Indian State for land mass provides extensive opportunities in the logistics industry. The Minister noted that it has one of the largest road and rail networks in India.

“We also have opportunities in tourism and hospitality. So people who are interested in real estate sectors can come and invest in Rajasthan as well,” he said.

He also emphasised the agriculture market in India's Rajasthan.

“Any industry which would like to do food processing can do value addition in agriculture and have opportunities in Rajasthan,” Rathore said.

Rajasthan is notably one of the key contributors to India's growing economy with a GDP growth of 11 percent as of FY 2023. The Indian State is also known for its strong trade ties with Qatar by exporting Pearls, Precious or Semi-precious Stones.

The official mentioned that some of the key sectors driving envisioned growth include agri processing, logistics, petrochemicals, real estate, mines and minerals, textiles, industrial parks, and tourism.

India's food processing industry is expected to amount to $535bn as of 2026, according to Indian government data as the country's largest producer of moth beans, mustard, pearl millet, and oilseeds are from Rajasthan.

On the other hand, the North-West Indian State is also the second-largest for the production of spices, fennel, cumin, and pulses.

In logistics, out of 58 Indian parks ranked under the 'leader' category in IPRS 2.0 by DPIIT, the Government of India (GoI); 25 Leader Parks are from Rajasthan. In addition to that 93 Warehouses with a total storage capacity of 16.08 LMT are situated in the Indian State.

Ambassador Vipul emphasised that both countries are engaged through several institutional mechanisms.“To further enhance our partnership in trade, investment, energy, culture, technology, and other areas earlier this year we renewed our long-term LNG partnership with an agreement for supply of 7.5 million tons per annum of LNG from Qatar to India for 20 years.”

Starting 2028, Qatar is expected to remain one of the top four energy partners in India.

He said:“I see these strong ties between India and Qatar as providing a solid framework for furthering the relations at the State level from India and in this context we are very happy that Rajasthan chose Qatar as one of the countries for doing the road shows or the rising Rajasthan Summit, which will happen in December.”

“I hope that this meeting will pave the way for greater interest and business commitments between Qatar and Rajasthan,” H E Vipul added.

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