New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Gulf nation Kuwait on a two-day visit starting this Saturday, New Delhi announced on Wednesday. This will be the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Kuwait in 43 years. The visit will take place at the invitation of Kuwait’s Emir (ruler) Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.“During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait. He will also interact with the Indian community in Kuwait. India and Kuwait share traditionally close and friendly relations that are rooted in history and have been underpinned by economic and strong people-to-people linkages…,” New Delhi said, adding, “The visit will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the multifaceted ties between India and Kuwait.”Lately, several high-level meetings have taken place between the two nations. Earlier in September, the Prime Minister and Kuwait’s Crown Prince met on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York. External affairs minister S. Jaishankar also visited the oil-rich Gulf nation on August 18.Kuwait’s foreign minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya too, visited India earlier this month. He had also called on the Prime Minister during this visit and had extended the Kuwaiti leadership’s invitation to visit Kuwait. Both foreign ministers had also met on the sidelines of the first India-GCC Strategic Dialogue Committee meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on September 9.The two nations have institutionalised their cooperation through mechanisms such as the joint commission for cooperation (JCC), which was established during the visit of the Kuwaiti foreign minister to India earlier this month.The JCC is headed at the foreign minister’s level, with seven new joint working groups (JWGs) having also been established in the areas of trade, investment, education, technology, agriculture, security, and culture. These complement the three existing JWGs in hydrocarbons, health, and consular matters, bringing the total number of JWGs to 10 following the signing of the JCC.Kuwait is among India’s top trading partners, with bilateral trade valued at $10.47 billion in the financial year 2023-24. Kuwait is India’s sixth largest crude supplier, meeting three per cent of the country’s energy needs. Indian exports to Kuwait have reached $2 billion for the first time, while investments by the Kuwait Investment Authority in India exceed $10 billion.Indians also form the largest expatriate community in Kuwait and serve as a “living bridge” between the two countries.
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