PM Modi set to undertake historic Kuwait visit this week

New Delhi, Dec 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to Kuwait starting December 21 in what would be the first visit by an Indian PM to the key West Asian country in 43 years.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait - including Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait - the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday.

During the two-day visit he is also scheduled to interact with the Indian community in Kuwait.

“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. India is among the top trading partners of Kuwait. The Indian community is the largest expatriate community in Kuwait. The visit will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the multifaceted ties between India and Kuwait,” read a statement issued by the MEA.

Earlier this month, as he called on PM Modi at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence during his visit to New Delhi, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya had extended an invitation to the Prime Minister from the Kuwait leadership to visit the country “at the earliest opportunity which the PM had graciously accepted.

A few hours later, as he held the delegation-level talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House, Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya called India as a “very important partner” and Prime Minister Modi as “one of the wisest persons” in the world.

“I would like to thank you for the invitation and also for the opportunity of meeting Prime Minister Modi, who we believe is one of the wisest persons worldwide. I am sure that the Prime Minister puts India on a better level, and I am sure that he will continue that... India is a very important partner and we count on our relationship,” the visiting Foreign Minister said in the meeting held on December 4.

Kuwait currently holds the current presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - also comprising the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar - and the only GCC member country that PM Modi has not visited so far since assuming office in 2014. A proposed visit in 2022 was postponed due to the Covid pandemic.

In September, PM Modi had met with Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait, on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UNGA in New York in what was the first meeting between the two leaders.

Recalling the strong historical ties and people-to-people linkages between the two countries during the meeting, Prime Minister Modi had conveyed that India attaches “utmost importance” to its bilateral relations with Kuwait.