Narendra Modi in Qatar: PM begins second leg of five-nation tour, meets Indian workers in Doha

Doha: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Doha for the second leg of his five-nation tour, after concluding the first leg of his trip in Afghanistan.

The Indian Prime Minister was greeted by his Qatar's counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani at the airport.

Upon landing in Qatar, Prime Minister Modi tweeted in Arabic saying that he was looking forward to the various programmes that will enhance the economy and relations between India and Qatar.

Reached Doha. India attaches great priority to strong ties with Qatar & my visit seeks to expand bilateral ties between our nations: PM — PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 4, 2016

Asserting that India gave high priority to Qatar, he added that through his visit, he would be looking to expand the bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

"Namaste Qatar! Its wheels down in Doha as PM Narendra Modi arrives for the second leg of his journey," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted shortly after PM Modi's tweet.

This is the second prime ministerial visit from India to Qatar in eight years after then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit in 2008.

Shortly after reaching here, PM Modi visited to Indian workers at a medical camp in Downtown Doha.

Supporting our ciitzens abroad. Qatar engagements begin with visit to a Workers medical camp in Downtown Doha. pic.twitter.com/WbZUOudxhk — Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) June 4, 2016

Addressing the workers, PM said, "I came to Doha in the evening and the first programme on my schedule was to meet you all."

He further said, "When someone from your land, speaking your language comes, I am sure that would make you very happy. Want to congratulate doctor friends for the good work they are doing. Happy to see regular health check-ups being conducted here. Am aware of the issues you are facing. I do talk about it when I meet the authorities." 

"The work that you have done is why the world praises of India. I thank you all for this. When I met Emir of Qatar, he was praising the people who work here. He said the people of India are very gracious," he added. 

Shoulder to shoulder with Indian workers abroad. PM @narendramodi interacts with the workers pic.twitter.com/z4GQJLueCX — Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) June 4, 2016

During his stay in Qatar, Prime Minister Modi is expected to sign a number of agreements with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

PM: I believe that the leadership in the Gulf has a lot of love and belief in the Indian community here pic.twitter.com/EhtLSwe8Nw — Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) June 4, 2016

The Prime Minister will also interact with the Indian community in country. Around 630,000 Indians are currently residing in Qatar.

Modi flew in from Afghanistan, where earlier on Saturday, he, along with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, also known as Salma Dam, in the western province of Herat.

On Sunday, he will begin his engagements in Qatar with a meeting with business leaders following which he will hold a restricted meeting with Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

Bilateral trade between India and Qatar stands at $10 billion.

"It (Qatar) can also be a large economic partner as it has a large sovereign wealth fund," Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said on Friday ina pre-departure media briefing.

After Qatar, PM Modi will also visit Switzerland, the US and Mexico.