India-Kuwait Elevate Ties to Strategic Partnership

General Studies Paper -2

Context: Prime Minister Modi paid an official visit to Kuwait marking a historic moment in India-Kuwait relations.

The last Indian prime minister to visit Kuwait was Indira Gandhi in 1981.

Key Highlights

• Strategic Partnership: India and Kuwait agreed to elevate their relationship to a Strategic Partnership, enhancing cooperation across multiple sectors.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of defense was signed, aiming to strengthen ties through joint military exercises, training, coastal defense, and maritime safety.
• Both the nations signed the Executive Program on Cooperation in the Field of Sports for 2025-2028.
  • It will strengthen cooperation in the area of sports.
• Both the nations signed the Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) for the years 2025-29.
• PM Modi was conferred with the the highest award of the State of Kuwait ‘The Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer’.

India-Kuwait Relations in Brief

• Political Relations: India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Kuwait following its independence from the British Protectorate in 1961.
  • Recently a Joint Commission on Cooperation (JCC) was established between India and Kuwait, to review and monitor the entire spectrum of the bilateral relations between the two countries.
• Energy Partnership: Kuwait is a significant energy partner, serving as India’s sixth-largest crude oil supplier and fourth-largest LPG supplier.
  • It holds approximately 6.5% of global oil reserves, underlining its strategic role in India’s energy security.
• Indian Community: Indians constitute 21 per cent (1 million) of the total population of Kuwait and 30 per cent of its workforce (approximately 9 lakh).
  • Indian workers top the private sector as well as the domestic sector workforce list.
• Trade relations: Kuwait remains one of India’s top trading partners, with bilateral trade valued at $10.47 billion in the financial year 2023-24.
• Medical Cooperation: An MoU on Medical Cooperation was signed in 2012, with a Joint Working Group set up to review progress.
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuwait supplied over 425 metric tons of liquid medical oxygen, oxygen concentrators, ventilators etc.

Way Ahead

• The India-Kuwait trade partnership can be further bolstered by the early conclusion of the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement, expanding trade in technology, agriculture, and manufacturing, while improving trade facilitation.
• Both countries should work together on UN reforms, including expanding the Security Council’s membership to make it more representative and effective.

Building on Kuwait’s role in India’s energy security, both nations should explore renewable energy partnerships, particularly in solar energy, leveraging Kuwait’s membership in the International Solar Alliance (ISA).