H.E. Sibi George, Ambassador of India to Kuwait
On this very special and joyous occasion of the 75th Independence Day of India, it is my honour and privilege to extend warm greetings and best wishes to my fellow countrymen and women in Kuwait.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation and profound gratitude to all well-wishers and friends of India in Kuwait, particularly to the leadership, the Government and the people of the State of Kuwait, for their steadfast commitment to the close and friendly relations between India and Kuwait and also for their support to the Indian community in our fight against the devastating Covid-19 pandemic.
I would like to reiterate India’s commitment and keenness to further strengthen and expand the long-standing dynamic partnership with the State of Kuwait. The mutually enriching and multi-faceted bilateral relations between our two friendly countries are rooted in history. These close ties have been nurtured by continuous civilizational linkages and vibrant people-to-people affinities. Presence of a large number of Indians in this friendly, peace-loving and vibrant nation of Kuwait is a testimony to the enduring spirit of cooperation and understanding that exists between the two countries and its peoples.
This year, we mark 75 years of our Independence. It is a significant milestone in our quest to build a new, resurgent and self-sufficient India. India of today is a nation that inspires other nations across the world, and is a leading country in the comity of nations when it comes to stability and prosperity coupled with sustainability in true sense. We, the people of our country, have forged this robust nation of ours with strong and vibrant democratic traditions through sheer grit, resilience and selfless efforts and sacrifices of millions of people over decades.
This is the result of our collective human endeavor, of our devotion to duty, of our commitment to hard work, of our relentless dedication to not only the well-being of the people of our nation but also to the larger cause of humanity. For this continued success, we owe a great deal to our founding fathers for the most prized national inheritance — the Indian Constitution. Our Constitution, which is widely acclaimed as one of the finest in the world, is an expression of the principles and values we have committed ourselves to; an eternal fountain of wisdom and guidance; a fundamental source of the law of the land and the power of its people; and an encapsulation of the essence of our nationhood.
The past year and a half have been challenging for India and the rest of the world as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten the very existence of human race. Millions of lives have already been lost and livelihoods of hundreds of millions have adversely been impacted. During this hour of crisis, India has once again risen up to the occasion. We not only managed to face the COVID-19 pandemic with great fortitude but while we did this, we stayed true to our age old ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, where we treat the world as one big family. India was and continues to be the first responder to calls of help and assistance from other countries.
We sent medicines and medical supplies to over 150 countries in the world. Our medical professionals travelled the world to augment and support healthcare infrastructures of other countries. In yet another display of our commitment to this idea of universal brotherhood, India supplied vaccines to more than 90 countries around the world, including 200,000 doses of Made-in-India ‘COVISHIELD’ vaccine to the friendly State of Kuwait, and rightfully justified our credentials as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’.
Despite the global macroeconomic headwinds due to the ongoing pandemic, Indian economy continues to remain on firm footing. Hon’ble Prime Minister’s clarion call for ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-Reliant India), which envisages a merger of the local with the global, has played the role of catalyst in this economic revival. Innovation and adaptability to the situation have been the important pillars of our comprehensive approach in dealing with the pandemic challenge.
This has been particularly demonstrated in the way India ramped up its medical equipment manufacturing infrastructure during the pandemic period. While before the pandemic, there was not a single company in the country producing masks and PPE kits, within a few months around 1,100 such companies became operational. In just three months, India has become the second largest manufacturer of masks and PPE kits in the world. And during the entire process, there was strict adherence to the policy of non-compromise with quality.
To give a further fillip to growth and development, the Government continues to introduce various measures like production-linked incentives which envisages increase of scale and efficiency of Indian manufacturing. This is in line with the objective to Make in India for the world. Major structural reforms, including through introduction of simpler tax systems, creation of a capable human resource base, development of a strong financial system and building of hard and soft infrastructure, continue to be undertaken to enable us to harness the true, latent potential of Indian economy. Also, despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, India attracted the highest ever total FDI inflow of USD 81.72 billion in the financial year 2020-21. This is a testimony of the belief of the global investor community in our long-term growth story and the strength of our underlying strong economic fundamentals.
India is currently in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member and has assumed the Presidency of the Council for the current month of August. In a historic first, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired a UNSC debate titled ‘Enhancing Maritime Security – A Case for International Cooperation’. Speaking at the event, Hon’ble Prime Minister stated “We want to make an inclusive framework on maritime security in our region based on the vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region). This vision is for a safe, secure, and stable maritime domain». This in a nutshell summarizes our vision of creating an environment of peace and security to ensure a better world for the entire humanity, which has been the guiding spirit of India’s foreign policy. India places an undeterred faith and belief in multilateral approach and has always taken the lead on issues of global concern such as international terrorism, climate change, energy security, food security, and the reform of multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council.
The Gulf and Middle East region occupies a pivotal place in India’s foreign policy framework. We are each other’s extended neighborhood, and peace, security and stability of countries in this region is imperative for prosperity and economic development of India. GCC is one of our largest trading blocs, meeting a significant percentage of India’s energy requirements and hosts over 8 million Indians.
I also take this opportunity to inform all our friends that India-Kuwait bilateral relations continue to intensify with an increasing number of bilateral visits from both sides. His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Hon’ble Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, State of Kuwait, visited India in March this year. During the visit, in a significant development marking an upward shift in our bilateral institutional engagement, our two countries upgraded the existing Joint Ministerial Commission to the level of Foreign Ministers. This was followed by the visit of His Excellency Dr. S Jaishankar, Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India, to Kuwait in June 2021.
The visit was highly successful as it imparted further momentum to a relationship which is firmly on an upward trajectory. Highly successful and productive discussions that covered all the dimensions of our bilateral relations were held during the visit. A wide range of topics of mutual concern and also some issues that needed deeper understanding and greater alignment were discussed between the two sides. Considerable progress was made on cooperative frameworks in the areas of defence, etc. Generous appreciation for the Indian community living in Kuwait from the Kuwaiti leaders stood out as a consistent theme during the interactions. During the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Recruitment of Domestic Service Workers was signed which will streamline the entire ecosystem of the recruitment process and provide mutual benefits and protection to employers and employees.
When India faced the second wave of COVID-19 and the consequent shortage of medical oxygen, our traditional partner, Kuwait, rose to the occasion and became a leading global supplier of medical oxygen helping us tide over the critical situation. I take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to the leadership, the Government and the people of the friendly State of Kuwait and also to the Indian Diaspora in Kuwait for all the assistance.
Our bilateral trade and investment ties continued to remain strong despite the adverse impact of the pandemic and its associated precautionary restrictions implemented by the concerned authorities. During the entire crisis period, India remained a steady and reliable partner for Kuwait maintaining its supply of exports of essential commodities including foodstuffs. To further strengthen our bilateral trade and investments linkages, the Embassy has been organizing various business promotion events under the themes of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘States Facilitation’, and ‘Invest in India’ in hybrid/virtual formats. The overwhelming response from the business communities of the two countries was heartening to see.
The Embassy celebrated every national festival and days of national importance and also organized various other events, including International Day of Yoga, Open House sessions, COVID-19 awareness related seminars and roundtables, NEET Day Kuwait, etc. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to all the esteemed guests who graced our events with their presence and to all the friends of India who collaborated with the Embassy to make all these events highly successful and memorable.
As I had highlighted right at the beginning, it is the people-to-people ties that forms the bedrock of this strong and enduring relationship. Indians form the largest expatriate community in Kuwait and are present in almost all segments of Kuwaiti economy. In all my interactions with the Kuwaiti leadership at various levels, I have been reassured that the Indian Community in Kuwait enjoys the trust and confidence of the friendly people of Kuwait because of the community’s law-abiding nature, its peaceful character, work ethic and cultural compatibility.
We at the Embassy place highest priority to the welfare and well-being of the Indian Community in Kuwait. I thank the Indian Community Support Group (ICSG) and the many Indian professional bodies, cultural groups and associations and the many volunteers and media representatives for joining hands with the Embassy in its efforts to support the Indian diaspora in facing the many challenges posed by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. I thank our brave frontline healthcare professionals, our doctors, our nurses and our scientists who have been working selflessly in trying to protect our lives and that of our loved ones. I salute our children who have managed a difficult school year with extraordinary resilience and understanding.
The Embassy is your ‘Home Away from Home’. During the year, we have continuously worked to further improve the quality of our services to the community and will continue to do so in the future. We have introduced 12 new, dedicated 24*7 Helpline WhatsApp numbers to address your issues; we continue to take your feedback and have widened the network of feedback form availability to include your nearest supermarket; all suggestions received through this mechanism are reviewed for applicable implementation; we have introduced an AYUSH information cell; and have also created a new 24*7 helpdesk at the premises for various ongoing registration drives.
Our various outreach platforms, viz., Indian Business Network (IBN), Indian Professionals Network (IPN), Indian Cultural Network (ICN), Indian Sports Network (ISN) and Indian Readers’ Network (IRN) continue to function smoothly as we work together towards building Brand India in Kuwait and further strengthening India-Kuwait relations across the entire spectrum. We look forward to launching an Indian Women’s Network to provide a platform to celebrate the contributions of our women in Kuwait.
This year, 2021, marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Kuwait. The Embassy aims to celebrate this momentous milestone in a befitting manner with year-long commemorative events. We have already organized a number of events under this theme and I look forward to working with each of our diaspora members in organizing more events in the days, weeks and months ahead.
Once again, on this joyous and proud occasion of the 75th Independence Day of India, I wish every Indian in Kuwait good health and happiness. I conclude by conveying my best wishes for the continued good health and well-being of His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait; His Highness Sheikh Misha’al Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait; His Highness Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait; and to the Government and the friendly people of the State of Kuwait.
