NEW DELHI, 14 June 2006 — Taking Indo-Kuwait ties to a new height, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, emir of Kuwait, is visiting India at the invitation of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, June 14-19. Accompanied by a high-level delegation, including businessmen, ministers of foreign affairs, energy and finance as well as senior officers, his visit’s focus is to enhance economic exchange between India and Kuwait. Elaborating on this, Kuwaiti ambassador to India, Khalaf Abass Khalaf Al-Foudari said: “The opportunities for investment in Kuwait are very encouraging. There are many sectors having great scope for investment for Kuwaiti investors and others, specifically in oil and petroleum sector.” With this being Sheikh Sabah’s first India visit over past 20 years, New Delhi expects it to “substantially strengthen bilateral ties” and “raise them to a new height.” Sheikh Sabah’s visit will be marked by inking of three pacts — Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT), Agreement on Drugs and Narcotics and Agreement on Cooperation in Culture.

His visit is expected to enhance prospects of Indo-Kuwait trade crossing $3,200 million by 2010 from the present level of $1000 million, according to a study conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Excluding oil, Indo-Kuwaiti bilateral trade was almost $700 million in 2004-05. Kuwait provided about 11 million tons of crude oil and 1.25 million tons of oil products in 2005 to India worth around $ 4.5 billion. More than 500,000 Indians live and work in Kuwait. Several public and private Indian companies are also functioning in Kuwait.

During Sheikh Sabah’s visit, India will seek Kuwaiti participation in the development of its petroleum and petrochemical industries and infrastructure sector. India is likely to contribute to growth of science and technology, information technology and biotechnology sectors in Kuwait. Other areas of cooperation likely to be discussed include health care, hospitality, education, power sector, pharmaceuticals and drugs as well as tourism. Agreements on promotion of business and greater cooperation in these sectors may be signed during Sabah’s visit, sources said.

Indian business leaders expect Sabah’s visit to open a new chapter in India-Kuwait economic relations. On this, Principal Adviser to Chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (West Asia and North Africa), K.C. Patankar said: “We are hopeful that the visit of the emir, who also brings an important business delegation along with him, will pave the way for more investments in India and vice-versa.”

Kuwait, having recently opened its oil and petroleum sector to foreign investment, is looking for increased cooperation with overseas companies particularly in Asia. With Asia also offering a huge market for oil and petroleum, some concrete proposals are likely to be discussed during Sabah’s visit.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation are hopeful that Sabah’s visit will help them bag a major oil field development project in Kuwait. These two Indian companies are part of an international consortium that also includes British Petroleum (BP) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation of the US. It has qualified to submit final bids for the development project. With his visit coming just ahead of the final tender process for Project Kuwait, the Indian companies have asked the government to advocate their case before him. “We feel advocacy efforts by the government are likely to play a key role in clinching Project Kuwait,” a senior Petroleum Ministry official said.

While in India, Sabah will call on President Kalam, who will host a state banquet in his honor. He will also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hold talks with him, covering bilateral, regional and international issues.