NEW DELHI, 15 June 2006 — India and Kuwait will sign three agreements to boost ties during Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s five-day visit here, an Indian official said yesterday.
“The two countries will ink three agreements - on the avoidance of double taxation, another on cooperation in preventing smuggling of drugs and narcotics and a third to boost cultural ties,” the official said.
The Kuwaiti emir arrived in India yesterday at the invitation of Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
The emir, accompanied by a high-level delegation including Kuwait’s ministers for finance, energy and foreign affairs, was received at the airport by India’s Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed. He will be given a ceremonial reception at the presidential palace in New Delhi today.
The emir is scheduled to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today.
“These talks are likely to cover issues of bilateral interest, as well as the regional and international situation,” said a press release issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
The two sides are also expected to discuss a proposed bilateral agreement on labor, diplomatic sources said. There are more than 500,000 Indians living and working in Kuwait, according to official estimates.
India’s increasing energy needs are likely to also come up during the talks. Kuwait supplied 11 million tons of crude oil and 1.25 million tons of oil products worth over $4.5 billion to India in 2005.
State-run Indian oil companies have qualified to bid for a tender to be floated by Kuwait to develop its northern oil fields and want the matter to be raised with the emir, who is accompanied by a high- level business delegation, sources said.
India is among the top 10 exporting countries to Kuwait, and bilateral trade between the two countries, excluding oil, totaled more than $700 million in 2004 to 2005.
Both India and Kuwait are hoping the visit will boost bilateral trade and investment. “The visit would substantially strengthen bilateral ties and raise them to a new height,” India’s Foreign Office said in a statement.
“We will be exploring new avenues of cooperation during the emir’s visit,” a Kuwait Embassy official said.
“The emir’s visit will see further steps in strengthening bilateral relations in different fields, including trade and mutual investment,” said a statement issued by the mission of the Arab League.
The emir, who arrives in India on the third leg of an Asian tour, which took him to Thailand and Bangladesh, will be given a ceremonial reception and a banquet will be hosted in his honor by the Indian president in New Delhi.
The Kuwaiti emir will be visiting India’s business hub Bombay before flying to Pakistan, the last stop on his tour, on Monday.
