New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Kuwait on December 21-22 is yet another milestone in India’s diplomatic outreach to the Gulf region, which New Delhi considers as part of its extended neighbourhood. This will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Kuwait in over four decades. The last prime ministerial visit from India to Kuwait happened in 1981 when Indira Gandhi held the post.
Modi’s trip is expected to deepen bilateral relations, particularly in energy, trade, and labour cooperation, while also reaffirming India’s commitment to strengthening ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs announcing the visit, Modi will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait and also interact with the Indian community in that Gulf nation.
“India and Kuwait share traditionally close and friendly relations which are rooted in history and have been underpinned by economic and strong people-to-people linkages,” the statement reads. “India is among the top trading partners of Kuwait. The Indian community is the largest expatriate community in Kuwait.”
The announcement of Modi’s visit comes soon after the visit of Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al Yahya’s visit to India earlier this month. This was Al Yahya’s first visit to India as foreign minister.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry following Al Yahya’s visit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Kuwaiti counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on establishing a Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC).
“New joint working groups in areas of trade, investment, education, technology, agriculture, security and culture, will be set up under the JCC,” that statement read. “The JCC mechanism will act as an umbrella institutional mechanism to comprehensively review and monitor the entire gamut of our bilateral relations under the new joint working groups and the existing ones in areas including hydrocarbons, health and consular matters.”
Since Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, relations between India and the GCC countries have witnessed a significant transformation. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This period has been marked by enhanced strategic, economic, and cultural cooperation, making the Gulf region a major cornerstone of India’s foreign policy.
However, Kuwait is one country that Modi had not visited in the 10 years since he became Prime Minister. India and Kuwait enjoy traditionally friendly relations. India has been a natural trading partner of Kuwait and until 1961, the Indian rupee was a legal tender in Kuwait.
Till the discovery and development of oil, Kuwaitʼs economy revolved around its fine harbour and maritime activities which included shipbuilding, pearl diving, fishing and voyages to India on wooden dhows carrying dates, Arabian horses and pearls that were traded for wood, cereals, clothes and spices.
India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Kuwait following its independence from British Protectorate in 1961. Prior to the establishment of diplomatic relations, India was represented by a trade commissioner.
So, why is it that it took so long for Modi to visit Kuwait?
“The Prime Minister’s visit to Kuwait this week has no special diplomatic implication as regards being the last GCC country to be visited,” R Dayakar, former Indian Ambassador to Iraq and Jordan who also served in the West Asia desk of the Ministry of External Affairs, told ETV Bharat. “Timing of visits at summit level depends on various factors, particularly mutuality of convenience between the two sides.”
Muddassir Quamar, Associate Professor at the Centre of West Asian Studies in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, concurred. “You cannot attribute the delay in this visit to Kuwait to any specific reason,” Quamar told ETV Bharat. “When leaders make bilateral visits, there are priorities.”
He then explained that Kuwait has not been able to compete with other GCC countries as far as economic transformation is concerned.
“Economic attraction is a major reason,” Quamar said. “Now that the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister has visited India, the bilateral relationship will get a major boost.” At the same time, he pointed out that Kuwait, being a monarchy, has seen generational transitions leading to disruptions in political leadership.
“However, the Kuwaiti ruler now, compared to his predecessors, is relatively younger,” Quamar said. “That creates a possibility of developing economic relations with India. The Kuwaiti currency is very strong.”
It is worth mentioning here that Modi met Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September this year. According to Dayakar, Kuwait has been a source of energy and a significant trading partner for India.
“There have been no major irritants in the bilateral relations,” he said. “Exchange of visits from time to time at political level has taken place. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar visited Kuwait twice in recent times.”
India-Kuwait relations have always had an important trade dimension. India has consistently been among the top trading partners of Kuwait. Total bilateral trade with Kuwait during the financial year 2023-24 was $10.47 billion. Indian Exports have increased from $1.56 billion in 2022-23 to $2.1 billion in 2023-24 with year-on-year growth of 34.7 per cent.
The top five export items from India were aircraft parts, cereals, organic chemicals, vehicles and electric machinery. During 2023-24, Kuwait was the sixth largest crude supplier meeting about 3 percent of Indiaʼs total energy needs.
Indian public sector undertakings (PSUs) like TCIL, New India Assurance, LIC, and Oriental Insurance have offices in Kuwait in association with local sponsors, as per prevailing regulations. Indian top private sector companies such as Air India, L&T, Shapoorji Pallonji, Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd, KEC, TERI, WIPRO, Tata, and Ashok Leyland are also present in Kuwait with local tie-ups.
Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) invests indirectly in India through global fund managers and most of these investments are in liquid asset classes like equities. KIAʼs estimated investments in India are more than $10 billion, a sovereign wealth fund with assets in excess of US$ 800 billion.
According to Quamar, the major issues that are expected to come for discussion during Modi’s visit are energy cooperation, fintech, and people-to-people ties given the large Indian diaspora in Kuwait.
Like in other Gulf countries, Kuwait is home to an over one-million-strong Indian diaspora. Professionals like engineers, doctors, chartered accountants, scientists, software experts, management consultants, architects, technicians and nurses, retail traders and businessmen are present in Kuwait, apart from blue-collar workers. It is in view of all this that Modi’s upcoming visit to Kuwait this week assumes significance.
