Vice President Dhankhar to attend FIFA opening ceremony
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Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar.
New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will attend the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, representing India, during his two-day visit to Qatar.
He was invited to Doha by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi tweeted, "Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar emplanes for Doha on an official visit to Qatar to represent India at the inauguration of the FIFA World Cup 2022."
Besides attending the inaugural ceremony of the football World Cup, the vice president will also interact with members of the Indian community during his visit.
MEA's statement said that the vice president's visit would be an opportunity to join a close and friendly country Qatar as it hosts a major sporting event and also to acknowledge the role played and support extended by Indians in this World Cup.
India and Qatar enjoy close and friendly relations with a multi-faceted partnership extending to areas of trade, energy, security, defence, health, culture, and education, among others, the MEA statement said.
It added that people-to-people ties form an important element of the bilateral relationship with over 840,000 Indians in Qatar.
Bilateral trade between India and Qatar crossed USD 15 billion (one billion=100 crore) in the last financial year. While Qatar plays a pivotal role in India's energy needs, India reciprocates by contributing to the gulf nation's food security.
In 2023, India and Qatar will celebrate 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations.