Vice President Dhankhar to attend FIFA world cup inauguration in Qatar

New Delhi [India], November 18 (ANI): At the invitation of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, Jagdeep Dhankar the Vice President of India will pay an official visit to Qatar on November 20-21 and represent India at the inauguration of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The news was announced by the External Affairs Ministry on Friday, November 18 in a press release.
India and Qatar enjoy close and friendly relations with multifaceted partnerships extending to areas of trade, energy, security, defence, health, culture, and education, among others. In the last financial year, bilateral trade crossed USD 15 billion.
Qatar plays an important partner in India's energy security and India participates in Qatar's food security. Next year, both countries would be celebrating 50 years of the establishment of full diplomatic relations.
People-to-people ties form an important element of the bilateral relationships with over 840,000 Indians in Qatar. During his visit, besides attending the inaugural ceremony on 20 November, Vice President will also interact with the members of the Indian community.
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.
The football extravaganza will begin on November 20 and will go on till December 18. In the first match, the Ecuadorian team will clash with the host team, Qatar. (ANI)