Kuwait City:Giving a major boost to their bilateral relations, India and Kuwait on Sunday elevated their ties to a strategic partnership, inked a key pact on boosting defence cooperation and vowed to soon finalise an ambitious investment treaty.
The developments unfolded during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the Gulf nation that concluded on Sunday, during which he held extensive talks with Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and other top leaders of the country to broad-base the bilateral relations.
The PM held separate talks with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, with a larger focus on imparting new momentum to the overall ties.
Modi thanked his Kuwaiti counterpart PM Al-Sabah for his "special gesture" to come and see him off at the airport.
"Thank you Kuwait! This visit was historic and will greatly enhance our bilateral relations. I thank the Government and people of Kuwait for their warmth. I also thank the PM of Kuwait for the special gesture of coming to the airport for the see-off," Modi posted on X.
The two countries also discussed ways to transform the existing 'buyer-seller' relationship in the energy sector into a comprehensive engagement with greater collaboration in upstream and downstream sectors and agreed to explore Kuwait's participation in India's strategic petroleum reserve programme.
Fast-track negotiations on bilateral investment treaty
According to a joint statement, both sides directed each other's concerned authorities to "fast-track and complete the ongoing negotiations on the bilateral investment treaty".
To ramp up energy cooperation, the two sides expressed keenness to support companies of the two countries to increase cooperation in the fields of exploration and production of oil and gas, refining and engineering services and petrochemical industries, it added.
A total of four agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence, were inked. The other pacts will provide for cooperation in areas of sports, culture and solar energy.
The MoU on defence will provide for cooperation in the areas of defence industries, supply of defence equipment, joint exercises, training, exchange of personnel and experts and collaboration in research and development, Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (Overseas Indian Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said at a media briefing.
The defence pact will facilitate cooperation in coastal defence, maritime safety and joint development and production of defence equipment, the joint statement noted.
Two sides condemn terrorism in all forms
In the talks, the two sides unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, and called for disruption of terrorism financing networks and safe havens, the joint statement said.
Both sides also agreed to enhance counter-terror cooperation, information and intelligence sharing and exchange best practices and technologies. In their delegation-level talks, the two prime ministers discussed a roadmap to strengthen the strategic partnership in areas of trade, investment, energy, defence, security, health, education, technology, cultural and people-to-people ties, according to the MEA.
In a post on 'X', Modi described his talks with the Kuwaiti counterpart as "fruitful". "Our talks covered the full range of India-Kuwait relations, including trade, commerce, people-to-people ties and more. Key MoUs and Agreements were also exchanged, which will add strength to bilateral relations," he said.
The Indian prime minister also invited a delegation comprising the Kuwaiti Investment Authority and other stakeholders to visit India to look at new opportunities in the fields of energy, defence, medical devices, pharma and food parks, among others.
In the meetings, the Indian side also showed keen interest in intensifying its cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) through Kuwait's presidency of the influential grouping.
In their discussions, Modi and the Emir largely deliberated on boosting ties in areas of information technology, pharmaceuticals, fintech, infrastructure and security.
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