Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Qatar one a two day visit to the nation. This is the second part of his five-country whirlwind tour which took him first to Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, he and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani unveiled the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, which was earlier known as Salma Dam. It is located in the western province of Herat. The Dam was built in 1978 but was destroyed during the course of the civil war.
India has a significant presence in Afghanistan and has pledged $2 Billion in the developmental projects. Indo-Afghan cooperation scaled new heights on Saturday when Indian PM and the Afghan President inaugurated the Salma Dam in the Heart province. The dam was built by India at a cost of Rs 1,700 crores.
The dam will bring irrigation to the parched lands in 640 villages of Zindjan, Kohsan, Obe, Pashtun Zarghun, Karokh, Gozara, Chiste, Injil, and Ghoryan in the Heart province.
PM Modi addresses Indian community in Doha, Qatar
The project will also generate more than 42 MW of electricity. The Dam is another symbol of growing partnership between the two nations. India also built the Afghan Parliament building.
The increasing Indian involvement in developmental activities has not gone well with its neighbor Pakistan which accuses both the governments of fomenting trouble in its restive Baluchistan province.
Last month India , Iran and Afghanistan have signed a trilateral agreement to develop the Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. It will create a trade and transit corridor through Afghanistan to Central Asia and beyond to Russia and Europe.
The Indian Prime Minister has also been conferred the highest civilian honor of Afghanistan the Amir Amanullah Khan Award by President Ghani.
In his second phase his tour, PM Modi will attend a dinner hosted in his honor by the Qatari PM on Saturday evening. The Indian PM will also visit an Indian workers’ camp later in the day. There is around 630,000 expatriate Indians in Qatar; many are manual workers.
He will interact with the business leaders of the nation on Sunday and will have closed door discussions with the Emir of the state Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Qatar is a prominent Indian trade partner and bilateral trade stands at $10 Billion.
In the next leg of his tour Modi will visit Switzerland, US, and Mexico.
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