Modi to visit Kuwait, first Indian PM to do so in 43 years

The Indian Express - Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kuwait on December 21-22, the first Indian Prime Minister to do so in 43 years.

Announcing the visit on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Kuwait’s Amir, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, had extended the invitation and during the visit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait. Modi will also interact with the Indian community in Kuwait.

“The visit will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the multifaceted ties between India and Kuwait,” the MEA statement said.

“India and Kuwait share traditionally close and friendly relations which are rooted in history and have been underpinned by economic and strong people-to-people linkages. India is among the top trading partners of Kuwait. The Indian community is the largest expatriate community in Kuwait,” the statement said.

Recent high-level meetings include that of Prime Minister M Modi with Kuwait’s Crown Prince on the sidelines of UNGA in September 2024.

In 2024, the foreign ministerial visits from India to Kuwait include that of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on August 18. Similarly, the Foreign ministerial visits from Kuwait to India include that of Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, from December 3-4 during which he also called on Prime Minister Modi and extended Kuwaiti leadership’s invitation to visit Kuwait. Both the foreign ministers also met on the sidelines of the 1st India-GCC Strategic Dialogue Committee meeting in Riyadh on September 9.

India and Kuwait have institutionalised their cooperation through mechanisms such as the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) that was established during the visit of Kuwaiti Foreign Minister to India in December 2024, which is headed at the Foreign Minister level, seven new Joint Working Groups (JWGs) have been established in the areas of trade, investment, education, technology, agriculture, security, and culture.

Kuwait is among India’s top trading partners, with bilateral trade valued at USD 10.47 billion in FY 2023-24. It is India’s 6th largest crude supplier, meeting 3% of the country’s energy needs. Indian exports to Kuwait reached USD 2 billion for the first time, while investments by the Kuwait Investment Authority in India exceed USD 10 billion.

Kuwait remains a reliable energy partner, ranking as India’s 6th largest supplier of crude oil and 4th largest of LPG.

Over the years, there have been several high-level visits between the two nations, including Indian leaders such as Vice President Dr Zakir Husain (1965), Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1981) and Vice President Shri Hamid Ansari (2009). The VVIP visits from Kuwait to India were of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah (1964); Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (1980) and again in 1983 (for the NAM Summit); Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2006); Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah (2013).

Amir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah visited India on a private visit in July 2017. The last high-level visit from either side was that of the Prime Minister of Kuwait to India in 2013.