Mukesh Ambani meets Donald Trump, Qatar emir in Doha

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday met US President Donald Trump and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha as Reliance Industries seeks to strengthen ties with authorities in both nations.

Ambani, Asia's richest man, attended a state dinner for Trump at the Lusail Palace, joined by a London-based Indian business leader close to both the Trump and Qatar administrations.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, QIA, has invested in Reliance businesses over the years, while Ambani maintains partnerships with US tech giants like Google and Meta.

Reliance's dependency on Trump's decisions

While investment or business discussions were planned during the meeting, Ambani's oil-to-retail conglomerate has businesses closely tied to decisions of the US President.

Reliance had last year secured waivers from the US to resume importing crude oil from Venezuela. It, however, had to stop that in March following Trump authorising a 25% tariff on countries buying the South American country's oil.

Qatar's Emir visited India in February, pledging $10 billion in investments across various sectors.

Further details of Ambani's agenda were not immediately available.

This was Ambani's second meeting with Trump since his return to the White House in January.

Mukesh Ambani and wife Nita Ambani were part of a select 100 who attended a 'candlelight dinner' with Trump a day before his inauguration.

Ambanis share close ties with the Trump family.

The richest Indian was present when Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump, visited Hyderabad for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in 2017. She was an advisor to President Trump then.

The latest meeting came as Qatar's Emir hosted Trump, who witnessed a record-breaking $96 billion deal between Qatar Airways and Boeing for 160 firm orders, including 130 787s and 30 777Xs, with options for 50 more aircraft.

The order, the largest for Boeing's 787s and wide-body jets, was signed in the presence of Trump, Qatar's Emir, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, and Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.

"It's over $200 billion, but 160 in terms of the jets—that's fantastic," Trump said at the signing ceremony, congratulating Boeing.

The deal includes GE Aerospace's GEnx engines for the 787s and GE9X for the 777X, which is set for delivery in 2026.

Trump is scheduled to travel to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, focusing on investment opportunities in the Middle East.