Strengthening partnership with Gulf countries, PM Modi set to begin historic visit to Kuwait

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New Delhi – Committed to fostering long-standing, historic and close relations with all Gulf countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Kuwait on Saturday – the first by an Indian Prime Minister to this key country. Western Asia in 43 years.

“India and Kuwait enjoy traditionally close and friendly relations that are rooted in history and underpinned by strong people-to-people economic ties. India is one of Kuwait's major trading partners. The Indian community is the largest expatriate community in Kuwait. This visit will be an opportunity to further strengthen the multifaceted ties between India and Kuwait,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA) said ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s historic visit.

During his visit, the Prime Minister will meet with Kuwait's leaders – including Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait – and is also expected to interact with the important Indian community in Kuwait. country.

Prime Minister Modi will be accorded a ceremonial guard of honor at the Bayan Palace, following which he will hold separate one-on-one meetings with the Emir and Crown Prince of Kuwait. It will be followed by delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister of Kuwait, during which both sides will review the entire bilateral relationship, including areas such as politics, trade, investment, energy , culture, relations between people and the necessary steps to improve them further

“India and Kuwait share an age-old bond characterized by historical ties, strong economic exchanges and vibrant cultural ties,” MEA Secretary (CPV and OIA) Arun Kumar Chatterjee told reporters on Friday.

Ahead of the historic visit, the MEA highlighted that there has been a major transformation in India's ties with the Gulf region and that the Prime Minister attached “special importance” to strengthening and deepening ties. relations with the Gulf countries.

Kuwait currently holds the presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – also comprising the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar – and is the only GCC member country that Prime Minister Modi does not has not been delivered until now since he took office in 2014. A proposed visit in 2022 has been postponed due to the Covid pandemic.

The Gulf countries are important trade and investment partners for India, and New Delhi also has a strong energy partnership with these countries.

During the visit, Prime Minister Modi will also interact with the Indian diaspora at a community event and also visit a labor camp. He will also attend the opening ceremony of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup as a special guest of the Emir of Kuwait.

“The Indian government attaches considerable importance to the welfare of all overseas workers. We have a community of around a million Indians in the country. The purpose of the Prime Minister's visit to the labor camps is to highlight the importance that the Indian government attaches to the welfare of our workers in foreign countries,” Chatterjee said.

Earlier this month, while visiting Prime Minister Modi at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence during his visit to New Delhi, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya had extended an invitation to the Prime Minister on the part of Kuwaiti leaders to visit the country “at the first opportunity which the Prime Minister had graciously accepted.

Hours later, while holding delegation-level talks with Foreign Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House, Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya called India “a very important” and Prime Minister Modi “one of the wisest people” in the world.

“I would like to thank you for the invitation and also for the opportunity to meet Prime Minister Modi, who we believe is one of the wisest people in the world. I am sure the Prime Minister is putting India at a higher standard, and I am sure he will continue to say that… India is a very important partner and we count on our relationship,” the business minister said visiting foreigners at the December 4 meeting. .

In September, Prime Minister Modi had met Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait, on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UNGA in New York, as part of which was the first meeting between the two leaders.

Recalling the strong historical ties and people-to-people ties between the two countries during the meeting, Prime Minister Modi said India attaches “utmost importance” to its bilateral relations with Kuwait.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) later said the meeting between the leaders of the two countries is expected to give a “new impetus” to bilateral relations between India and Kuwait.

“They noted with satisfaction that the two countries support each other in energy and food security. They expressed their strong commitment to deepening and diversifying bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of both countries. The Prime Minister thanked the Crown Prince for ensuring the well-being of the Indian community in Kuwait, which constitutes the largest diaspora group in the country,” read a statement issued by the MEA on September 22, 2024. .

During his discussions with the visiting Foreign Minister of Kuwait earlier this month, Prime Minister Modi had once again expressed confidence that the close cooperation between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council would be further strengthened under Kuwait's current presidency of the GCC.

While exchanging views on the situation in West Asia and expressing support for the early return of peace, security and stability to the region, Prime Minister Modi thanked Kuwait's leaders for taking care of the million Indian communities living in Kuwait.

Later, EAM Jaishankar and Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya reaffirmed their joint commitment to strengthening stability and security in the region and the world.

“Following the meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed on the establishment of a joint committee for bilateral cooperation between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of India, which reflects the determination of the two friendly countries to raise the level of bilateral relations to higher, broader and more comprehensive levels,” the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs (IANS) said.

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