India, Kuwait sign pacts on defence, energy, tech

The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence that will lead to an increase in cooperation in training, joint exercises, defence industry and supply of defence equipment during Modi's visit, the first by an Indian premier to Kuwait in 43 years.

- Rezaul H Laskar

The two countries have close energy and business ties and India is among Kuwait's top trading partners, with two-way trade worth $10.47 billion during 2023-24. Kuwait is India's sixth largest crude supplier and fourth largest LPG supplier, meeting 3% of the country's energy needs.

Modi held talks with the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, and the Prime Minister, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, to review the existing relations and to identify new areas of cooperation.

At the meeting between Modi and the Amir of Kuwait, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation and agreed to elevate the relationship to a strategic partnership, the external affairs ministry said.

During delegation-level talks between Modi and his Kuwaiti counterpart, the two sides discussed a road map to strengthen the strategic partnership in areas such as politics, trade, investment, energy, defence, security, health, education, technology, culture and people-to-people ties, according to the ministry.

In a post on X, Modi described his meeting with the Amir as "excellent".

"Excellent meeting with His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AI Sabah. We discussed cooperation in key sectors like pharmaceuticals, IT, FinTech, Infrastructure and security. In line with the close ties between our nations, we have elevated our partnership to a strategic one and I am optimistic that our friendship will flourish even more in the times to come," he wrote.