New Delhi: Foreign Minister of Kuwait Dr Ahmed Nasser Mohammed Al-Sabah is on a two-day visit to India. He arrived to a warm welcome in New Delhi on Wednesday.
India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said “Glad to welcome you this morning. Will co-chair Joint Commission with him to elevate our relationship further".
He also conveyed his appreciation for taking care of the Indian community in Kuwait.
Former Indian ambassador to Kazakhstan Ashok Sajjanhar and a foreign policy expert said, “Kuwait is a very important partner as far as India is concerned, both in terms of the Indian diaspora as well as Kuwait meeting our energy requirements. Also in terms of trade and economic cooperation, Kuwait is a significant partner. Although Kuwait might be small in terms of population or area, still it is a prosperous country. In that sense, investment coming into India from Kuwait plays an important role".
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Pointing out that even in the initial stage of the pandemic, India had provided medical assistance to Kuwait as well as vaccines, he said, “As far as bilaterally is concerned, relations between India and Kuwait are important. In addition to the presence, safety and security of the Indian diaspora in Kuwait, remittances to India are significant and important".
“Kuwait is also a reasonably significant supplier of energy needs as far as India is concerned. Because Kuwait is a prosperous country, investment from Kuwait into India’s growing infrastructure be it roads, ports, telecommunication or energy infrastructure is very much welcome and needed”, Sajjanhar added.
Pertinently, according to the embassy of India in Kuwait, historically, Indo-Kuwaiti relations have always had an important trade dimension. India has consistently been among the top trading partners of Kuwait.
During FY 2019-20, Kuwait was the 10th largest oil supplier to India and it met about 3.8% of India’s energy needs. Total bilateral trade with Kuwait during FY 2019-20 was US$ 10.86 billion
Mohammed Al-Sabah told media persons on Wednesday that Kuwait looks to India and the world community to help revive the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis as delaying the process may further hamper potential progress.
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He said that his talk with Jaishankar will focus on institutionalizing the wide-ranging cooperation between Kuwait and India and creating a framework to help both sides forge ahead objectively in areas such as food, security, energy, trade and investment.
Further, on being asked if India can play a role in the Palestinians and Israelis peace process, Sajjanhar said, “In my view, India should operate cautiously, India is in a very privileged position because India is one of the few countries or the only significant player which has good relations with Israel, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, all the countries that have established diplomatic relations recently with Israel. In that sense, the Abraham records have gone a significant way to lower the picture as far as the tensions and the stress in the region is concerned.
So India could be expected to play a role in bringing the countries together, given that India has an excellent relationship with the Palestinians.
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India had stood up in support of Kuwait in its darkest time during the pandemic. In February this year, a consignment of Indian-made vaccines was handed over to Kuwait by India. Ministry of External Affairs had then reiterated that such a move shows the close friendship and strong ties between the two nations.
In fact, in the year 2020 when the pandemic hit the world, a team of 15 Indian doctors and health- care professionals were sent by India to Kuwait, to supplement the efforts of the Government of the State of Kuwait in the collective fight against global Covid-19 pandemic. The rapid response team was deputed at the request of the government of the State of Kuwait.
Earlier, the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister lauded India for its continuous support during the time of crisis.
