STRENGTHENING BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP

SIX DECADES OF FRIENDSHIP

- DR. ARNAB CHAKRABARTY

Marking sixty years of a flourishing relationship between both states one needs to take a look back in time to observe the fine changes. The end of the Second World War witnessed further fragmentation of the Arab states, India’s independent foreign policy made it look in a more positive way towards this region and Kuwait fitted the bill. It is also interesting to note that till the 1970s the Indian Rupee was used as the official currency ii in many Gulf countries including Kuwait. The discovery of oil iii, a valuable commodity added a new economic dimension to Kuwait apart from its traditional economic sectors. Very soon Kuwait became one of India’s largest trading partners, with trade revolving iv mostly around crude oil, petroleum products, cereals, nuclear reactors, organic chemicals, and plastic products. Lots of high-profile visits occurred bilaterally such as the visit of former Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi and the visit of the then Prime Minister of Kuwait H.H. Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah in 2013. Bilateral Trade for the FY 2020-21 stood at 6.27 billion USD’ ( Source: Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi). Cooperation spilled over from economic and trading activities to the opening of an office of the Kuwaiti Defence Attaché to India vi for the purpose of enhancing defense cooperation.