Dec 20, 2024 08:27 PM IST
Kuwait has, for many decades, been a major crude oil supplier to India, meeting about 3% of our current energy needs, while Indian companies have provided valuable expertise and services to Kuwait’s oil and gas sector.
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s visit to Kuwait from December 21-22, coming 43 years after the last such visit by an Indian PM, marks a major milestone for ties and is set to reinvigorate the deep-rooted friendship between our two countries.
India-Kuwait linkages go back to ancient times, with recent excavations showing that connections between the Indian west coast and the Kuwait region pre-date the Indus Valley and Mesopotamian civilisations. Kuwait’s strategic position made it a natural trading hub linking India, Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. Guided by monsoon winds, Kuwaiti dhows navigated the Indian coastline from Gujarat to Kerala, fostering robust commercial ties and interaction with local communities. India was a major market for Kuwaiti pearls, Arabian horses, and Basra dates, which were traded for our spices, textiles and food products. The emergence of Mikimoto cultured pearls in the 1920s and the Great Depression of 1929 disrupted the natural pearls market while surging oil revenues following the discovery of oil in Kuwait in the 1930s delivered a deadly blow to it. Reflective of our close commercial ties, the Indian rupee was the official currency in Kuwait till its independence in 1961.
Kuwait has, for many decades, been a major crude oil supplier to India, meeting about 3% of our current energy needs, while Indian companies have provided valuable expertise and services to Kuwait’s oil and gas sector. Nonetheless, our cooperation deserves to go beyond a purely crude oil trading buyer-seller relationship to encompass wider interaction in oil and gas. Indian companies like L&T and Kalpataru Power have been active in securing and successfully completing major energy-related construction contracts in Kuwait. The Indian policy research organisation, TERI, has helped implement a major oil spill clean-up project in Kuwait, using cost-effective, eco-friendly bioremediation techniques. Kuwait’s position at the northern end of the Gulf exposes its petroleum exports to the Hormuz Strait chokepoint, and it would be mutually advantageous to store some of its crude oil in underground caves offered by India on its western coast. Diversifying our energy ties to cover renewable energy has solid prospects and it is anticipated that Kuwait — a sun-drenched country like India — will shortly join the International Solar Alliance headquartered in Delhi-NCR.
India-Kuwait trade is just above $10 billion annually and favours Kuwait, but Indian exports are growing. There are also significant two-way investments, including by the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), in Indian infrastructure. India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals burnish its investment appeal in these turbulent times, and KIA enhancing such investments into India constitutes a mutually attractive proposition. Kuwaiti conglomerate Alghanim Industries has made profitable investments in India via Kirby Building Systems.
Exemplifying our close ties, India supplied vaccines to Kuwait during the Covid-19 pandemic and the latter, in turn, reciprocated by providing a range of medical oxygen supplies to India during its second pandemic wave.
An India-Kuwait Joint Commission for Cooperation was established earlier this month, with new joint working groups on trade, investment, education, technology, agriculture, security, and culture. It will serve as an umbrella mechanism to comprehensively review and monitor our ties in the seven identified sectors, besides covering three earlier ones on hydrocarbons, health, and consular matters.
The one-million-strong Indian diaspora, easily Kuwait’s largest expatriate community, has appreciably contributed to its economy, particularly in sectors like health care, construction, engineering, education, and finance. Kuwaitis have great regard for Indians, viewing them as the “community of first preference” for employment. Indeed, whether filling vacancies for a construction or domestic worker, a doctor or banker, an engineer or nurse, Indians are highly sought after for being reliable, hard-working, professional, and law-abiding. Ensuring the rights and welfare of Indians in Kuwait has been and must remain a top priority for both governments. Kuwait has traditionally been amongst the top five countries in terms of inward remittances to India.
With their family-centred cultures, India and Kuwait have often shared identical or similar values. Indian cuisine too has long been popular in Kuwait, with quality Indian basmati rice being central to the eating habits of Kuwaiti households. Alphonso mangoes enjoy huge popularity across Kuwaiti homes. Bollywood films and Indian music have a dedicated following among Kuwaitis.
During PM Modi’s interactions with the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and Kuwaiti PM Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, assessments will no doubt be shared on topical regional and international issues of common concern, like the Israel-Palestine conflict and developments in and around Syria. India and Kuwait would also reaffirm their desire to cooperate in addressing challenges like international terrorism and climate disruption. Earlier this month, Kuwait took over the Presidency of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the conclusion of the long-pending India-GCC Free Trade Agreement needs to be accelerated.
Ajai Malhotra is a former Indian ambassador to Kuwait. The views expressed are personal
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