'Indian flag at half-mast, no official...': India declares one-day mourning for ex-Qatar emir Sheikh Hamad

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declared one-day mourning in the country as a mark of respect for former Qatar emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who passed away earlier on Sunday.

On the designated day, July 13, the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout India on all buildings where it is flown regularly, while all official entertainment will be paused for the whole day.

"Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, is expected to visit Qatar shortly to convey condolences on behalf of the Government of India to the State of Qatar," an MEA statement read.

Sheikh Hamad, often addressed as the Father Emir of Qatar, passed away on Sunday morning, aged 74. However, the exact cause of his death has not yet been revealed.

A number of world leaders condoled his demise, including PM Modi, who recalled his last meeting with the ex-emir, back in 2024.

"He was a visionary leader who guided Qatar to great levels of development and prosperity. We also remember him as a true friend whom I had the honor of meeting during my last visit to Qatar in February 2024," he wrote on X.

The former emir ruled Qatar from 1995 till he voluntarily stepped aside for his son and the current emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, in 2013, and is credited with ushering in socio-economic development in the energy-rich Gulf nation, which played a key role in India's energy security journey.

One of his crowning achievements was the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in Qatar, for which his father had set the groundwork.

However, it was only after he peacefully took over from his father in 1995 that Qatargas I, the country's first LNG facility, truly began taking shape, after which it was officially inaugurated in 1997 by Sheikh Hamad.

What started off as infrastructure for the production and shipment of LNG evolved into Qatar becoming one of the world's largest exporters, and a key supplier of India's LNG reserves.

In fact, the LNG terminal at the Dahej Port in Gujarat began out of early LNG-focused ties between New Delhi and Doha, back in 2004, when Narendra Modi was the CM of Gujarat.

Later that year, the port received India's first LNG shipment, which came from Qatar under a 25-year deal inked in 1999 for the import of 7.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

This deal was later extended in 2024, by means of a 20-year deal for the import of LNG from 2028 to 2048.