Kuwait-India ties boosted by seven key strategic initiatives
His Excellency Dr. Adarsh Swaika, the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, said the creation of seven new working groups in trade, investments, education, defense, consular issues, culture, and science will soon lead to meetings aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and paving the way for high-level visits.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kuwait on December 21 and 22, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country in 43 years. The Indian PM has reaffirmed his commitment to bolstering Indo-Kuwaiti relations for the mutual benefit of both nations and their people.
Indian media, citing The Times of India, reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kuwait on December 21 and 22, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country in 43 years, according to Al Rai newspaper.
Earlier this month, after meeting Abdullah Al-Yahya, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister, Modi reaffirmed his commitment to bolstering Indo-Kuwaiti ties for the mutual benefit of both nations and their people.
In a related context, His Excellency Dr. Adarsh Swaika, the Indian Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, praised the success of Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya’s visit to India on December 3. He noted that the Indian foreign minister had also visited Kuwait last August, where he held significant meetings with Kuwait’s leadership.
During a meeting with journalists, the ambassador statedthat “In September, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings, which underscores the very active bilateral engagements we have had over the past six months. The last such contacts were in 2021, when the Kuwaiti foreign minister visited India in March, and our Foreign Minister visited Kuwait in June. These visits also provided an opportunity to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.”
He added that “After a three-year hiatus, these political engagements have resumed, placing our relationship on a positive and renewed trajectory.”
He further emphasized, “The outcome of the Kuwaiti foreign minister’s visit to India was highly significant and successful, as it led to the establishment of a joint cooperation committee between the two countries.”
“This committee, which we have elevated to the level of the two foreign ministers, will serve as an umbrella for coordinating all aspects of our bilateral relations. Under this framework, seven joint working groups will be established in various areas where no institutional mechanism has existed so far,” Ambassador Swaika said.
He added, “Until now, we have only had four institutional mechanisms for consultation. The first is political consultations within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between the Assistant Foreign Minister for Asia and his Indian counterpart. The second is in the oil sector, the third in the field of medical cooperation, and the fourth in labor-related matters.”
He continued that “What we have done now is to add seven new working groups: the first in the field of trade, the second in investments, the third in education and skills development, the fourth in defense and security, the fifth in consular issues, the sixth in culture, and the seventh in science and technology.”
“Each of these seven working groups will begin holding meetings, creating a robust set of institutional mechanisms to address various aspects of our cooperation. These were very important documents that we signed, and we therefore look forward to high-level visits between officials of the two countries in the near future,” Ambassador Swaika said.
