Transcript of Special Briefing by Secretary (CPV & OIA) on Prime Minister's Visit to Kuwait (December 20, 2024)
India - Ministry of External Affairs
December 21, 2024
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We are here for a Special Briefing by Secretary (CPV & OIA) in the Ministry of External Affairs for the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister to Kuwait. Before I request Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA) to give you a sense of what lies in the visit, I would also like to introduce our dear colleague Director (Gulf) Soumya C.. She is in the Division and looks after several countries including Kuwait. So, with that I invite Secretary Sir to make his opening remarks and thereafter we'll have questions. Over to you, Sir.
Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): Thank you Randhir. Good afternoon to all of you. It's a great pleasure to meet you all today to brief you about the upcoming visit of the Honorable Prime Minister to Kuwait.
Friends, Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will undertake a visit to Kuwait on 21st and 22nd December 2024 at the invitation of the Amir of the State of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This marks the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Kuwait in 43 years and therefore assumes considerable significance. India and Kuwait share an age-old bond characterized by historical ties, robust economic exchanges and vibrant cultural connections.
There are excellent political relations between the two countries. Prime Minister recently met the Crown Prince of Kuwait on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in September this year. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Kuwait in August this year. You would all recall the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, His Excellency Mr. Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya visited India recently on 3rd, 4th of December. Both the Foreign Ministers had earlier met in September this year on the sidelines of the inaugural India-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue in Riyadh. These recent high-level engagements and other ministerial level exchanges have infused a fresh momentum into the bilateral relations between India and Kuwait.
To further strengthen the institutional mechanism of cooperation, an MoU to establish a Joint Commission was signed during the recent visit of the Foreign Minister of Kuwait to India in December this year. The Commission will be headed by the Foreign Ministers of both the countries. New Joint Working Groups in the areas of trade, investment, education, technology, agriculture, security and culture will be set up under the Commission. It will act as an umbrella institutional mechanism to comprehensively review and monitor the entire gamut of the bilateral relations between India and Kuwait through these new Joint Working Groups and the existing ones in areas which include hydrocarbons, health and in consular matters.
India ranks among Kuwait's top trading partners with bilateral trade between the two countries at more than USD 10 billion during the year 2023-24. Kuwait also remains a reliable energy partner for India, both in terms of supply of crude oil and LPG. There are investments also from Kuwait in India. Friends, the Indian community which is numbering around 1 million is the largest expatriate group in Kuwait and contributes significantly towards the continued growth of Kuwait across various sectors, serving as a living bridge between our two nations. Cultural and educational ties also remain vibrant between our two countries. Kuwait is thus one of India's key partners in the Gulf region today.
I just wanted to give you a brief context on the background to the visit. Now coming to the elements of the program during the visit, the Honorable Prime Minister will be accorded a ceremonial guard of honor at the Bayan Palace, following which he will be holding separate meetings with the Amir of Kuwait and the Crown Prince of Kuwait. There will be delegation level talks with the Prime Minister of Kuwait thereafter. During these bilateral discussions, the Prime Minister will review with the leadership of Kuwait the entire spectrum of our bilateral relations including in areas such as the political, trade, investment, energy, culture and people-to-people ties, and the steps that both sides need to take to further enhance them. The Crown Prince will be hosting a banquet in honor of the Honorable Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will also interact with the Indian diaspora at a community event and also visit a labor camp. He will also attend the opening ceremony of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup as a special guest of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait.
Friends, there has been a major transformation in India's ties with the countries in the Gulf region. Honorable Prime Minister has given special emphasis to strengthening and deepening the relations with the Gulf countries. Kuwait is presently the Chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council with which India has established a structured conversation. The first ever India-GCC Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue was held in Riyadh in September this year, which I just referred a little while ago about the meeting between the two Foreign Ministers.
So, this historic visit by the Prime Minister is expected to open a new chapter in India-Kuwait bilateral relations. It will not only consolidate the partnership in existing spheres but also unveil new avenues for future cooperation, reinforce our shared values and build a stronger and more dynamic partnership for the future. It is also expected to boost the ties between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Thank you friends and I shall be happy to answer your questions that you may have.
Huma Siddiqui, Financial Express: Sir, I am Huma Siddiqui from the Financial Express. So, Kuwait is holding the Presidency for the GCC from this month. Will the India-GCC FTA feature in the talks?
Divya A, Indian Express: Sir Divya from Indian Express. Earlier this year, there was a fire tragedy in Kuwait where many Indians lost their lives. So the Prime Minister is visiting a labor camp. Is there a concern about the condition of Indians living there, or is there anything that is being taken forward on that?
Sidhant Sibal, WION: Sir, similar question as Divya ma'am asked. How much is the concern for the Kafala system in Kuwait that has been a concern for the Indian workers?
Keshav Padmanabhan, The Print: Sir, Keshav Padmanabhan from The Print. Two questions; one is on the Bilateral Investment Treaty. I know that in 2018, it expired and new negotiations have opened. Will that feature during this visit? And added to that, there was also, I think, an MoU and defense cooperation that was being negotiated at some point. So will that also be something discussed during this visit? Thank you.
Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): First, let me come on to the FTA part of it. The FTA negotiations, we hope, will be continuing with Kuwait as the Chair of the GCC. That is a process that has been going on for some time. And we hope that both sides will be able to work towards it and conclude it.
Regarding the visit to the labor camp, the Government of India attaches considerable importance to the welfare of all the workers which are abroad. As I just mentioned, we have a community of around 1 million. As Secretary (CPV & OIA), this is one of our priority areas that we have. So the idea of the visit of the Honorable Prime Minister to labor camp is to express the amount of importance that the government of India attaches to our workers who are there in a foreign country. So that is the prime purpose for this particular visit.
As far as the Kafala system is concerned, I will come back on that, because I still do not have any information or any concerns from our workers at the moment. Just give me a while. I'll just come back on that.
Regarding the Bilateral Investment Treaty, yes, the discussions are going on. The MoU on defense cooperation also, discussions are going on. We are expecting to finalize a few bilateral documents during this visit. But the discussions are still going on. Once these are done, maybe post-visit, we will be able to give you greater details of that. Thank you.
Rishabh Madhavendra Pratap, Times Now: Sir, earlier this year, when we lost 41 of our men in Kuwait, major questions were raised on the condition of living. And as you mentioned, the Prime Minister would be visiting the labor camp also, are we going to provide Kuwait with our concerns over the living standards of our men there? Because there have been continuous complaints that people have been placed in those labor camps and were even forced to work in inhumane conditions. So, is that going to be a feature in the talks?
Ayanangsha Maitra: Excellency, this is Ayanangsha Maitra. I'm an independent journalist. Sir, during this outbound visit, Prime Minister... will there be any discussion on migration and mobility? This is number one. The second part is, the Kuwait got a lot of attention. And I believe this is the first country in the Middle East region who was a part of the Belt and Road, even [inaudible]. And it's Kuwait who recognized China. So, what sort of the strategic thing we can expect during Prime Minister visit? Thank you.
Snehesh: Sir, the Prime Minister is going on a... this is a standalone visit. But there were inputs that the Prime Minister was earlier planning to go to another country, which is Saudi. Were the dates not been able to work out? Any particular reason why the dates didn't work out, sir.
Siddhant Mishra, CNN News18: Secretary, I'm Siddhant from CNN News18. If you can share some more details about Prime Minister's diaspora engagement, the name of the event, and approximately how many people are expected to attend the event? Thank you.
Krishna Mohan Sharma, Bharat Express: Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. Mera sawal hai ki jo hamare majdoor bhai wahan par kaam karte hain, unke liye jo wahan ke kanoon hain, woh unko kahin se bhi safety nahi deta aur unke pass koi particular forum nahi hai jahan par ja kar woh apni shikayat kar sake aur unki shikayat ka samadhan ho sake.
[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. My question is, our laborer fraternity working there does not receive any form of safety under the existing laws there, and they do not have any specific forum where they can file their grievances and seek resolutions.
Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): Okay. I'll start with the issue on migration and mobility and other labor issues. See, we have a mechanism called Consular Dialogue between India and several other countries. Those countries where we regularly send our workers, we have a mechanism for a labor and manpower dialogue. In that particular mechanism, it's a kind of a Joint Working Group. There, all the concerns of our side are flagged. And the Kuwaiti side take notes of that, and they try to address all the difficulties. So, these two mechanisms are such that we ensure that these meetings are held on a regular basis. And I'm just not talking about, in this case, Kuwait alone. But with most of the countries, this kind of a mechanism exists between India and those countries concerned. Experience has shown that such regular interaction and dialogue has really been helpful in solving these problems.
The second part was about whether we are doing any migration and mobility agreement. At this moment, we are not looking at a migration and mobility agreement with Kuwait. We have a labor and manpower agreement with Kuwait. Migration and mobility agreements are primarily with those countries where we are able to send workers on a different kind of a mechanism, mainly the white collar workers, the professionals; like the ones which we have with UK, France, and are in the process like you would have just seen an intention with Moldova, which was signed to have one migration and mobility agreement.
Regarding the Mangaf fire accident which happened, see, most of our Embassies go and see the labour camps, the places that our workers are staying, to ensure and see that the places are fit for their stay. And that is an exercise which is an ongoing exercise which regularly we keep on doing. The Mangaf incident was an unfortunate thing that happened that early morning on 12th of June for which we lost a large number of Indian nationals in that event. We have taken... I mean the Honorable Prime Minister himself chaired a review meeting that day itself and our MoS, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh ji, had personally gone, supervised the movement of the mortal remains of all those who had unfortunately passed away in that particular incident. Several compensations have been announced, not only by the Government of Kuwait, but by the Government of India and the employer also. I am not going into all the details, those are here with me. In case anybody is interested after this, we would be very happy to share that.
As far as the diaspora engagement is concerned, which you mentioned, we are looking at Prime Minister's engagement with big numbers of the Indian diaspora at that particular event. I am not able to give you the full details at this moment because certain elements of the programme are still being worked out. But we are looking at a number of not less than 4000 to 5000 who would be attending in that particular event. But certain elements of it are still being tied up, so therefore, I will not be able to, at this moment, give you the entire details. But we expect a very good interaction of the Honorable Prime Minister with our community.
The dates for the Saudi Arabian visit, as you mentioned, you see, visits at any level are always as per the mutual convenience of both the sides. So unless you have mutually convenient dates, you will not be able to have a visit, whether it is an outgoing visit or an incoming visit. So the Kuwaiti visit, we were able to get the mutual convenience of the Amir, who in this case has invited the Prime Minister. So the visit worked out.
Yes, safety of our workers is one major area which is a major concern and this is something, as I said, we always keep on conveying to the Kuwaiti side, to any government where our workers are there. So the dialogue, bilateral mechanism which I mentioned, is something which we use for this purpose and also our Missions are there, our Ambassadors regularly take up issues of concern that our workers have.
You see, we have what is called the Protector Of Emigrants in the Ministry of External Affairs. Kuwait and the Gulf countries are designated as the Emigration Check Required countries. So all those who hold an Emigration Check Required passport are required to go through the Protector Of Emigrants system of sending people. We have a robust e-migrate portal which you would have all participated in this inauguration which the Honorable External Affairs Minister did on 13th or 14th of October, and that portal is something which we continuously encourage and request all workers who are going to the ECR countries to use this particular portal. The advantages of going through this is that we know who is the foreign employer, we know the channels through which the person has gone, in case there is a difficulty or in case there is any problem, we will be able to extend a help in a minute to that person because the e-migrate portal is connected with the Passport Seva Project portal, with the Bureau of Immigration portal. So, to identify the persons next of kith and kin here in India or the employer over there is very easy not only for the Embassies but also for the Government and our team sitting over here. So, I mean, through our friends in the media, this is something I would like to again reiterate that please spread the word to use our e-migrate portal so that you go safe and the workers and everybody goes secure.
This much also I can tell you, in case any person or any worker has any problem in any part of the country abroad, the Indian Embassy is always there and we are the first that immediately should be approached and we would be always there standing by that person to help them, no matter what time of the day it is. And for this purpose, we have 24 hour helplines available, mobile phones are accessible, so anybody can reach our Embassies at any point of time. So this is something in a larger context I am telling, not exactly on the Kuwaiti frontier, taking advantage of being Secretary (CPV & OIA) in the Ministry.
So, this is about the safety and other issues of the workers. So I think I have covered all the issues that were raised.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Sir, we have couple of questions. But, please ask your questions if they are different from the questions that have been already asked.
Jugal, BBC: Sir, hi, this is Jugal from the BBC. Sir, just a clarification, the Al-Mangaf incident, can you provide us an update on where the investigation is at and whether there have been any learnings in so far as for us as a country and advisories out of that incident passed on to the people going there to work?
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Okay. Already explanation has been given on the labour issues, so anything you have beyond that?
Yeshi Seli, The New Indian Express: This is Yeshi Seli from The New Indian Express. Sir, the bilateral trade between the two countries is close to ten and a half billion. Is there any talk, are there any talks likely around trade in local currencies since India has been propagating that in many other countries?
Sanjib Baruah, The Week: Sanjib Baruah from The Week. So can you please provide some more details about the energy and the hydrocarbon negotiations that we are having it? Thank you.
Altaf, Bloomberg: Hi, I'm Altaf from Bloomberg. You have just said that Kuwait has invested USD10 billion in India so far. So in what areas Kuwait has invested in India? Just to add, just a follow-up question to Ma'am. If you share some specific, with this visit, is India looking to bolster trade ties with Kuwait? Like, for example, is it looking to increase the energy imports from Kuwait? Thank you.
Madhurendra Kumar, News Nation: Madhurendra from News Nation. Aapne defence cooperation ka jikra kiya Kuwait ke sath. Toh abhi Bharat aur Kuwait ke beech mei defence cooperation ka status kya hai aur kya hum log koi apna platform jo hai project kar rahe hain ki Kuwait humse le?
[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Madhurendra from News Nation. You mentioned defence cooperation with Kuwait. What is the current status of defence cooperation between India and Kuwait, and are we projecting any of our platforms for Kuwait to procure from us?
Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): I'll come first of all on the Al-Mangaf thing. I do not have details of any investigation, the report that is going on. Maybe once the investigation report comes out, perhaps we would be able to know where all things went wrong and thereafter take action. But definitely the lessons have been learned about the incident and hopefully the workers, the employers who are arranging for this day and all will be able to provide them better. I am sure they must be doing it. It was just an accident, you know, I mean accident is something of major concern.
Local currency trade, yes something we are discussing with the Kuwaitis and it is an ongoing process. At this moment the process is not yet conclusive. During the talks, the two leaders are expected to discuss all areas of cooperation. At this moment, it would be not correct for me to really speculate or say what all they are going to discuss, but definitely we are looking at discussing all areas. Boosting trade ties, boosting energy ties and boosting defence ties would perhaps be a part of the discussions that the two leaders would be having.
The areas where this investment is there, I do not have the exact details. I will try to get that and provide that to you.
So, we hope that all the areas that you have asked we will have discussions at the highest level during this visit and hopefully new avenues and new areas will emerge out of it.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you sir. With that ladies and gentlemen we come to the close of this Press Briefing. Please stay tuned, stay connected with us to get more updates on the visit as it progresses. Thank you very much.
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