Kuwait City: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, who paid an official visit to Kuwait on Sunday, met prominent members of the Indian community there as well as representatives of various professional and community associations. “A good interaction with the vibrant Indian community in Kuwait. Commend their achievements and contribution to India-Kuwait relations,” the EAM posted on social media platform X after the meeting on August 18.

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release that the EAM met a “cross-section of prominent members of (the) Indian community in Kuwait as well as representatives of various professional and community associations”.

“The large and vibrant Indian community in Kuwait continues to be a living bridge between the two countries,” it added. Earlier that day EAM Jaishankar met Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.

Jaishankar’s one-day visit enabled both sides to review various aspects of India-Kuwait bilateral relations, including political, trade, investment, energy, security, cultural, consular, and people-to-people contacts. In 2021, the EAM marked an official visit to Kuwait from June 9-11 during which he called on its Prime Minister and delivered a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Amir of Kuwait.

India and Kuwait share historically friendly relations, rooted in deep trade ties. Before 1961, the Indian rupee was the legal tender in Kuwait. Until the discovery and development of oil, Kuwait’s economy largely depended on maritime activities such as shipbuilding, pearl diving, fishing, and voyages to India, where goods like dates, Arabian horses, and pearls were traded for wood, cereals, clothes, and spices.