PM Modi to make an official visit to Qatar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Qatari capital Doha on February 14 after concluding his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates.

The announcement about Modi's visit to Qatar came a day after the Gulf nation released eight jailed former Indian naval personnel. Seven of them returned to India on Monday morning.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said Prime Minister Modi had personally supervised developments in the case.

''We are gratified by Qatar's decision to release the Indians,'' he said.

The foreign secretary said Modi and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, will hold wide-ranging talks to further expand bilateral ties.

The Indians returned 46 days after their death sentences handed last October were commuted to jail terms of varying duration.

The eight apparently faced charges of espionage but neither Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against them public.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)