External Affairs Minister Jaishankar arrives in Kuwait on bilateral visit

KUWAIT CITY: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Kuwait on a bilateral visit early on Thursday during which he will hold high-level meetings here and hand over a personal letter from Prime Minister to the emir of the oil-rich Gulf nation.

Jaishankar is visiting Kuwait at the invitation of Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs.

This is his first visit to Kuwait as External Affairs Minister.

"Hon'ble External Affairs Minister of India His Excellency Dr S Jaishankar arrives in Kuwait on a bilateral visit and was received by the Ambassador," the Indian Embassy there tweeted on Thursday.

The visit comes nearly three months after the two countries decided to establish a joint ministerial commission to formulate a framework to strengthen ties in sectors like energy, trade, investment, manpower and labour and information technology.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah visited India in March during which both sides decided to set up the joint commission.

During the visit, he will hold high-level meetings and also address the Indian community in Kuwait, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi ahead of the visit.

It said Jaishankar will also carry a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

The year 2021-22 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Kuwait.

Kuwait has been supporting India in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic by supplying relief material as well as medical oxygen.

Indian Navy ships have brought a large quantity of medical oxygen from Kuwait in the last few weeks.