New Delhi: India and Kuwait elevated their ties to a ‘Strategic Partnership’ Sunday, along with a memorandum of understanding in defence, as well as agreements in culture and sports during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Gulf country also joined the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) as a member.
“This MoU [on defence cooperation] will institutionalise bilateral cooperation in the area of defence. Key areas of cooperation would include training, exchange of personnel and experts, joint exercises, cooperation in defence industry, supply of defence equipment and collaboration in research and development,” said Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (Consular and Diaspora) in the Ministry of Exchange Affairs (MEA) during a special media briefing.
The agreement in defence cooperation was in the works for a while, before being signed during Modi’s visit to the West Asian country.
The two-day visit by Modi is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Kuwait in 43 years. The PM met with the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Sunday morning. Subsequently, he held a meeting with Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah followed by delegation- level talks with his Kuwait counterpart Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
During the meeting with the Amir, Modi was conferred with the Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer, the highest national award of Kuwait. This is the Indian PM’s 20th foreign award. The Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer instituted in 1974 has since been conferred on select global leaders including the late Queen Elizabeth II to name a few.
The Amir of Kuwait “expressed” his appreciation for “India’s role as a valued partner in Kuwait and the Gulf Region.”
The two prime ministers discussed a “roadmap to strengthen the strategic partnership” in areas such as trade, political, investments, energy, defence, security, health, education, technology, culture and education, according to Chatterjee.
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Economic partnership
The two leaders also looked at ways to expand the economic cooperation between their countries. India is one of Kuwait’s largest trading partners, with bilateral trade in goods touching $10.47 billion in 2023-24. Kuwait is India’s sixth largest exporter of crude petroleum, accounting for 3 percent of its energy needs.
According to the MEA, there is also around $10 billion worth of investments by Kuwait in the Indian economy. Modi invited the Kuwaiti Investment Authority to visit India to look at opportunities in investing in areas such as defence, energy, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food parks among other sectors.
The two countries have had historic ties, with the Indian rupee being the legal tender in the country till 1961. However, since the 1990-1991 Gulf War, ties had hit a rough patch over India’s support for Saddam Hussein and Iraq.
Over the last three decades, ties have slowly strengthened. Kuwait is the last country within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Modi to visit, having visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE earlier during his tenure. Kuwait is the current chair of the GCC.
On ties between India and the GCC, Chatterjee said, “In general the two sides discussed cooperation between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council, for which Kuwait is now the chair…We look forward to very intense cooperation between India and the GCC, through Kuwait’s chairmanship.”
As a part of the two-day visit, Modi also visited a labour camp in Mina Abdullah Saturday and interacted with the roughly 1,500 Indian workforce living in the camp. There are around one million Indians living in Kuwait, making up 21 percent of the nation’s population and 30 percent of its workforce.
Modi thanked the Amir of Kuwait for “looking after” the Indian community during their bilateral meeting. Earlier in June, a fire in living quarters of labourers in the Mangaf area, left at least 41 Indians dead.
The prime minister addressed an event Saturday evening with the Indian community living in Kuwait and was the guest of honour for the inaugural match of the Arabian Gulf Cup.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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