Doha, Nov 10 Taking bilateral ties to a new high, India and Qatar have signed a landmark defence cooperation pact, described by officials as an agreement "just short of stationing troops" in the oil-rich Gulf region.

Within hours of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's touchdown here last evening on the second leg of his three-day maiden visit to the Gulf, the two sides signed agreements on defence and security, dealing with key areas like maritime security, intelligence sharing on terrorism, money laundering and transnational crime.

The defence cooperation pact addresses security concerns of Qatar and seeks to safeguard India's interest, officials said.

"The agreement is just short of stationing troops (in the region)," a top Indian official said.

Joint training exercises, training of personnel and maritime cooperation are highlights of the landmark pact inked by Defence Secretary Vijay Singh and his Qatari counterpart last evening after Singh led delegation-level talks with his counterpart Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al Thani.

The defence pact lays out a structure for joint maritime security and training as well as exchange of visits.

Another agreement on law and security enforcement was signed by Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed and his Qatari counterpart.

The pact deals with issues such as money laundering and transnational crimes. It lays out framework for sharing of information and database on threats posed by extremists and other security and legal matters, officials said.



The Prime Minister this afternoon called on the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani to discuss wide-ranging issues to further economic, commercial and energy ties between the two countries. The Emir also hosted a private lunch for the Prime Minister and his wife Gursharan Kaur.

N Ravi, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, said opportunities of cooperation in education were discussed between the two sides during the delegation-level talks last evening.

Western universities have campus in Qatar and New Delhi may think on the same lines in areas where it is strong -- technology, management and information technology.

The visit of Prime Minister would strengthen economic, commerce and energy ties.

"The visit symbolises start of new phase of our relationship," Ravi said, adding talks on importing additional liquefied natural gas from Qatar also featured during discussions.

India currently buys five million tonnes a year of LNG from RasGas of Qatar under a 25-year contract and will get an additional 2.5 million tonnes under the same long-term contract from January.

"In the near future, the supply of gas might be increased," Ravi said.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, who joined the high-level delegation this morning, met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah to discuss the possibility of importing additional LNG to meet India's growing energy needs. PTI