Mukesh Ambani flies to Doha to meet Trump and the Emir of Qatar

Mukesh Ambani flew from Mumbai to Doha on May 11, 2026, aboard his Boeing 737 MAX 9 BBJ, VT-AKV. The short hop — just over two hours across the Arabian Sea — put him in Qatar the same week U.S. President Donald Trump arrived for a state dinner hosted by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani at the Lusail Palace.

This is Ambani’s second meeting with Trump since the inauguration, per a Firstpost report. While sources told Reuters no formal business discussions were on the agenda, the gathering coincides with Trump witnessing a record $96 billion Qatar Airways-Boeing deal for 160 wide-body jets. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, QIA, has invested roughly $1 billion in Ambani’s retail venture, and Reliance maintains deep ties with U.S. tech partners like Google and Meta.

The trip follows a familiar pattern: Ambani and his wife Nita attended Trump’s inauguration dinner in January, and the family has hosted Trump’s daughter Ivanka at the Anant Ambani pre-wedding gala in Jamnagar. For a man whose business empire spans oil, telecom, and retail, a state dinner in Doha is less a social call than a strategic layover.