The Amir of Kuwait presents Kuwait's highest honour “The Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer” to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kuwait on December 22, 2024.
Kuwait City: The Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, conferred upon Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘The Order of Mubarak Al—Kabeer’, Kuwait’s highest national award, here today.
The conferment of the award on this historic visit of any Prime Minister of India to Kuwait after 43 years added a special meaning to the occasion. Modi dedicated the award to the long-standing friendship between India and Kuwait, to the Indian community in Kuwait and the 1.4 billion people of India.
The award was instituted in 1974 and has since been conferred on select global leaders. Sheikh Ahmed Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of Kuwait, was also present on the occasion.
In his meeting with the Amir at the Bayan Palace, Modi thanked the Amir for ensuring the well-being of the over one million-strong Indian community in Kuwait. The Amir expressed appreciation for the contribution of the large and vibrant Indian community to Kuwait’s development.
Modi also met today with Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, who hosted a banquet in honour of the Indian Prime Minister. The leaders acknowledged that bilateral relations were progressing well and welcomed their elevation to a Strategic Partnership.
Prime Minister Modi conveyed to the Crown Prince that India attaches utmost importance to its bilateral relations with Kuwait. Both leaders emphasized close coordination between both sides in the UN and other multilateral fora. Prime Minister expressed confidence that the relationship between India and the Cooperation Council (GCC) will further strengthen under the Presidency of Kuwait.
During his talks with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Modi invited a delegation comprising the Kuwaiti Investment Authority and other stakeholders to visit India to look at new opportunities in the fields of energy, defence, medical devices, pharma, and food parks, among others.
The two leaders discussed a roadmap to strengthen the strategic partnership in areas including political, trade, investment, energy, defence, security, health, education, technology, culture, and people-to-people ties. They also witnessed the signing and exchange of bilateral agreements and MoUs including an MoU on Defence Cooperation, a Cultural Exchange Programme, an Executive Programme on Cooperation in the Field of Sports and the Framework Agreement on Kuwait joining the International Solar Alliance.
The MoU on Defence Cooperation covers key areas of cooperation including training, exchange of personnel and experts, joint exercises, supply of defence equipment, and collaboration in research and development.
The Kuwaiti side also expressed interest in cooperating with India to ensure its food security. Both sides discussed various avenues for collaboration including investments by Kuwaiti companies in food parks in India.
Yesterday, after arriving in Kuwait, Modi visited a labour camp in the Mina Abdullah area of Kuwait with a workforce of around 1500 Indian nationals. This was the first program of his visit to Kuwait and Modi interacted with a cross-section of Indian workers from different States of India and enquired about their well-being. The visit to the labour camp is symbolic of the importance attached by the Prime Minister to the welfare of Indian workers abroad. In the last few years, the Government has undertaken several technology-based initiatives such as the E-Migrate portal, and the MADAD portal and upgraded Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana for the welfare of Indian workers abroad, the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
Modi also addressed a large gathering of the Indian community in a special event ‘Hala Modi’ at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Indoor Sports Complex in the city yesterday. He appreciated the hard work, achievements, and contribution of the Indian community to Kuwait’s development, which he said was widely recognized by the local government and society. He thanked the leadership of Kuwait for the welfare of the Indian community.
– global bihari bureau
Truly secular 🤔