Qatar has assured India that the interests of the expatriate Indian community would be taken care of in case of economic difficulties that may arise out of any action against Iraq in the near future.

The assurance was given by Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani to visiting Deputy Prime
Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani during discussions between the two in Doha on Tuesday evening.

"Nobody can imagine the difficulties that could visit the Indians if something were to happen in the light of what is brewing in the neighbourhood," Advani told the Indian community late on Tuesday night apparently referring to the crisis facing Iraq.

When Advani referred to such a possibility, he was assured that the Qatari government 'would take care of the Indian people'.

Reflecting on the importance he attached to his current visit, Advani said he had readily agreed to undertake the tour because Qatar was the first among the Gulf countries and the entire world to condemn the most traumatic terrorist attack on Parliament in India.

"We have no bilateral problems. There is cooperative friendship and we are now engaging in taking the cooperation
further through discussions," he said.

The deputy prime minister also asked the Indian community to be sensitive to issues concerning the local people.

Advani said he felt hurt when India was described as a developing country, which he said was a euphemistic term for saying 'you are not a developed country'.

He said their government has targeted 2020 as the year by which a situation would emerge when India would be called
a developed country through initiatives like connectivity revolution undertaken by the government in the context of transport and in the field of communication.

Advani also referred to the decision of the government to revive the proposal to linking various rivers in the wake of one of the worst droughts experienced in various parts of the country in the year gone by.

Advani referred to the enormous talent displayed by people of Indian origin across the world and said there was a need to channelise all this talent, both inside and outside the country, to make it a leading power.

According to the Qatari interior ministry, there are about 170,000 Indians in the country, whose total population is estimated at over 600,000.