Doha/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two-day visit to Doha on Thursday, days after eight Indian Navy were released by Qatar.

Modi was received in Doha by Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi at the airport.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X, "Giving a fillip to the historic and deep-rooted bonds with Qatar! PM @narendramodi arrived on a visit to Doha.

"Received by Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi at the airport. Wide-ranging talks with Qatari leadership on strengthening bilateral partnership lies ahead."

This is Modi's second trip to Qatar since he became the Prime Minister in 2014.

Modi's visit to Qatar takes place after eight Indian Navy veterans, who were in prison in Qatar over spying allegations and even at one point sentenced to death, have been released by the Arab country as confirmed by the Indian government on Monday.

The release is seen as a big diplomatic victory of India and Prime Minister Modi who supposedly personally intervened to secure their freedom.

Seven of them have already returned to India.

India and Qatar enjoy historically close and friendly relations. In recent years, our multifaceted ties have continued to deepen in all spheres including high level political exchanges, growing trade and investment between two countries, strengthening of our energy partnership, and cooperation in culture and education.

The presence of over 800,000 strong Indian communities in Doha is a testament to our strong people-to-people ties.