India, Kuwait elevate ties to strategic level

Kuwait City, Dec 22: India and Kuwait on Sunday elevated their ties to a strategic partnership and inked a key pact for defence cooperation after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and other top leaders of the Gulf nation.

Besides the Emir, Modi 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 focus on giving new momentum to the overall bilateral ties.

The two sides signed four agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence. The other pacts will provide for cooperation in areas of sports, culture and solar energy.

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 Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

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 MEA, said at a media briefing.

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.

Modi arrived here on Saturday on a two-day trip, the first to this Gulf nation by an Indian prime minister in 43 years.

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.

Modi thanked the Emir for ensuring the well-being of over one million Indians in Kuwait while the Kuwaiti leader expressed appreciation for the contribution of the community in the development journey of the Gulf nation.

“Excellent meeting with His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah. We discussed cooperation in key sectors like pharmaceuticals, IT, FinTech, Infrastructure and security,” Modi said in another post on ‘X’.

“In line with the close ties between our nations, we have elevated our partnership to a strategic one and I am optimistic that our friendship will flourish even more in the times to come,” he added.

Chatterjee said the Indian side is confident that “this historic visit of the prime minister will open up a new chapter in relations between India and Kuwait.”

Both sides have been able to identify several important areas of cooperation and the two sides will be working to fulfil them, he said.

The senior MEA official said Kuwait is very keen on deeper cooperation with the Indian pharmaceutical sector and may even consider investments in India.

In the meeting with Crown Prince Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Modi conveyed that India attaches utmost importance to its bilateral relations with Kuwait.

“The discussions covered ways to deepen economic and cultural linkages between our nations. We are extremely optimistic about the India-Kuwait Strategic Partnership scaling new heights of success in the times to come,” Modi said.

The MEA said the two leaders also emphasised close coordination between both sides in the UN and other multilateral fora.

“The prime minister expressed confidence that India-GCC relations will be further strengthened under the Presidency of Kuwait,” it said.

The Crown Prince hosted a banquet in honour of Modi.