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Transcript of Special Briefing by Secretary (CPV & OIA) on Prime Minister's Visit to Kuwait (December 22, 2024)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

December 22, 2024

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this Press Briefing on Prime Minister's historic visit to Kuwait. We have with us Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, who's Secretary looking after CPV and OIA affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs. He's joined here, and we are joined here by our Ambassador to Kuwait, Ambassador Adarsh Swaika, as also Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, who looks after Gulf countries, Shri Aseem Mahajan. With that, I invite Secretary Sir to make his opening remarks, and thereafter, we'll take some questions. Sir, over to you.

Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): Thank you Randhir. Good afternoon to all of you. It is a great pleasure to be here and to meet all of you today to brief you about the visit of the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, to Kuwait.

As you are all aware, Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi arrived in Kuwait on the morning of 21st December, that is yesterday. This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Kuwait in 43 years. At the airport, the Prime Minister was received by His Excellency Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah, the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Minister of Interior of Kuwait. Also present were the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, the Head of Diwan of the Prime Minister, and other senior officials of the Kuwaiti government to welcome the Honorable Prime Minister. Upon his arrival at the hotel, he was warmly welcomed by the Indian diaspora in Kuwait, and their numbers are around 200.

Friends, today morning, Prime Minister was given a ceremonial welcome at the Bayan Palace and a Guard of Honor accorded to him. He called on the Amir of Kuwait thereafter, His Highness Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This was the first meeting between the two leaders. They recalled the strong historical and friendly ties between India and Kuwait and reaffirmed their full commitment to further expanding and deepening the bilateral cooperation. In this context, they agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership. Prime Minister thanked His Highness the Amir for ensuring the well-being of over one million strong Indian community in Kuwait. His Highness the Amir also expressed appreciation for the contribution of the large and vibrant Indian community in Kuwait's development. Prime Minister also congratulated His Highness the Amir for successful holding of the GCC Summit earlier this month.

Friends, I would like to also inform you that His Highness the Amir conferred The Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer on the Prime Minister of India. This is the highest award of the State of Kuwait. The honorable Prime Minister thanked the Amir for this gesture and conveyed that he was accepting this award on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians.

Thereafter, Prime Minister today met His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince of the state of Kuwait. Prime Minister had earlier met the Crown Prince on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly Session in September this year. The leaders acknowledged that the bilateral relations were progressing well and welcomed their elevation to a Strategic Partnership. The Prime Minister also expressed confidence that the India-GCC relations will be further strengthened under the Presidency of Kuwait.

Thereafter, the Prime Minister held delegation-level talks with His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait. The two leaders discussed a roadmap to strengthen the Strategic Partnership in areas including political, trade, investments, energy, defence, security, health, education, technology, cultural and people-to-people ties. They emphasized on deepening the economic cooperation between the two countries. They welcomed the recent signing of the Joint Commission for Cooperation, under which new Joint Working Groups in areas of trade, investment, education, technology, agriculture, security and culture have been set up in addition to the existing Joint Working Groups on health, manpower and hydrocarbons. The Honorable Prime Minister also attended a banquet lunch hosted in his honor by His Highness the Crown Prince of Kuwait.

Friends, as you would all recall, yesterday in the evening, the Prime Minister of India was the Guest of Honor at the opening ceremony of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup, which is being hosted by Kuwait. He joined His Highness the Amir, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of Kuwait in this opening ceremony.

Earlier, after arrival, one of the first engagements of the Prime Minister was a visit to a labor camp in Mina Abdullah area of Kuwait, which has a workforce of around 1,500 Indian nationals. The Prime Minister interacted with a cross-section of Indian workers from different states of India and enquired about their well-being. The visit to the labor camp displays the importance attached by the Prime Minister personally and the Government of India to the welfare of Indian workers abroad.

Thereafter, yesterday evening, the Prime Minister also addressed a gathering of the Indian community at a special event titled 'Hala Modi' at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Indoor Sports Complex in Kuwait City. Around 4,500 Indian nationals representing a cross-section of the Indian community in Kuwait attended the event. The Prime Minister was warmly welcomed by the community once again, and with full enthusiasm, they all participated in the event yesterday. Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister noted that the India-Kuwait relationship is profoundly enriched by the Indian community, which plays a pivotal role in fostering ties between the two nations.

Friends, let me also inform you that following the delegation level talks today, four bilateral documents were signed during the visit. The first one is a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation. The second one is a Cultural Exchange Program for the years 2025 to 2029. The third is an Executive Program on Cooperation in the Field of Sports for the period 2025 to 2028. We also had Kuwait joining as a member of the International Solar Alliance.

Friends, as we are at the last stage of conclusion of the Prime Minister's visit, I would like to reiterate that we are pretty confident that this historic visit of the Prime Minister will open up a new chapter in the relationship between India and Kuwait. Both the sides have been able to identify several important areas of cooperation, and the governments will be working towards fulfillment of the plans that have been made during this visit.

I stop here, and I would be happy to receive a few questions. Just wanted to inform you that the time with us is very, very short. Thank you.

Sahil Pandey, ANI: I'm Sahil Pandey from ANI news agency. You talked about the MoU signed in defence cooperation. Could you talk about that? And also, was there any discussion of the safety of Indian workers?

Samira, Al-Nahar Newspaper: I'm Samira from Al-Nahar Newspaper. I need to ask, Excellency, about the defense cooperation between Kuwait and India. We need to have more details about it.

Nixon, Asianet News: My name is Nixon from Asianet News. Sir actually, here you have a contract with the health sector as well as education sector. More than 30,000 of nurses are in Kuwait. And there is going everything smoothly. But also, up to almost 20 years, there is no increment for nurses' salaries. So while you are discussing, is there any chance, or maybe in the future, you will do on that? I wanted know that only. Thank you.

Srijesh Joshi, Doordarshan News: Sir, Srijesh Joshi from Doordarshan News. Sawaal yeh hai ki Strategic Partnership ki or jo elevation hai, ye kis tarah se aage se sambandh aur majboot honge?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, Srijesh Joshi from Doordarshan News. The question is, how will the relations strengthen going forward with the elevation to Strategic Partnership?

Paul Francis, Arab Times: I'm Paul Francis from the Arab Times. Was anything discussed about the pharmaceuticals?

Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): Okay, let me first of all talk about the MoU between India and Kuwait in the field of defence cooperation. This MoU will institutionalize the bilateral cooperation in the areas of defence. The key areas of cooperation would include training, exchange of personnel and experts, joint exercises, cooperation in defence industry, supply of defence equipment, and collaboration in research and development. So this summarizes it.

I may also therefore add, since I have just decided to talk about the agreements, the cultural exchange program which I mentioned will facilitate greater cultural exchanges in art, music, dance, literature and theatre, cooperation in preservation of cultural heritage, research and development in the areas of culture and organization of festivals.

The executive program for cooperation in the field of sports, let me mention, will strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of sports between India and Kuwait by promoting exchange of visits of sports leaders for experience sharing, participation in programs and projects in the field of sports, exchange of expertise in sports medicine, sports management, sports media, sports science among some of the areas that we have identified.

And of course, the International Solar Alliance, Kuwait becoming a member, collectively covers the deployment of solar energy and addresses key common challenges to the scaling up of use of solar energy to help member states develop low carbon growth trajectories. So, here I thought I'll give you a rough idea of all the agreements that we have signed.

Regarding the health and education sector, see, both the sides, I mean, acknowledged the important contribution that our Indians are making in the Kuwaiti economy. The Prime Minister thanked the honorable leadership of Kuwait, the Amir, the Crown Prince as well as Honorable Prime Minister for taking care of the large Indian diaspora, which is around one million today. And the Kuwaiti side also acknowledged the major contribution that the Indian diaspora is making for the development of the Kuwaiti economy.

The issues like sector specific on health, on education, we have separate Working Groups that have been set up. Both the leaders, the leadership of both the countries, have agreed that these Working Groups will be meeting frequently and regularly to identify new areas of cooperation. Also, I want to inform you on the manpower front also, we have a Joint Working Group that exclusively looks at manpower related issues of Indians in Kuwait. And that Working Group usually looks at and addresses the major things, the major issues that are there in this sector. But in general context, the leaders discussed about the contribution of the Indian community here.

Strategic Partnership, as DD News asked about it, yes, the elevation of a relationship to a Strategic Partnership means you have taken your bilateral relationship to the next level, which means you will have greater intensity of cooperation in several areas. Plus, we have identified new areas, which I mentioned in my statement. It will actually enhance our cooperation in the areas that we have. We will identify new areas of cooperation between the two countries. And you will see more intensification of exchanges and visits in the coming days to materialize whatever has been planned by the leaders of both the countries.

Pharmaceuticals, yes, as I mentioned, health and pharmaceuticals is one important area which both the sides have identified for cooperation. And that could include investments by the Kuwaiti side in India, or expansion of the trade basket to increase pharmaceutical exports also from India. So pharma would continue to be one of the important sectors of cooperation between our two countries. Thank you.

Speaker: Sir, West Asia me jo conflicts chal rahe hain, isko le kar ke koi top leadership ke saath baatchit me kahi par koi is tarah ka...

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, whether the issue of the conflict in West Asia discussed between the leaders?

Shri Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA): See, in general, the two sides discussed cooperation between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is now Kuwait is the chair. And we had the recent Strategic Dialogue between India and GCC at the level of the Minister of External Affairs in the month of September. Now, Kuwait has taken over the Chairmanship of GCC. The Honorable Prime Minister congratulated the Kuwaiti leadership. And we look forward for a very intense cooperation between India and the GCC through Kuwait's Chairmanship of the Gulf Cooperation Council. So, that was the main factor for discussion during this visit.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: So with that, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the close of this Press Briefing. Thank you very much for your participation.