NewsGate Press Network

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is visiting Kuwait on a historic visit to said on Saturday the 21st of December 2024 that trade and commerce have been important pillars of the bilateral relationship between the two countries with two-way trade increasing.

News UNI is quoting the Prime Minister  – “Trade and commerce have been important pillars of our bilateral relationship. Our bilateral relationship has been on an upswing. Our energy partnership adds a unique value to our bilateral trade,” PM Modi said in an interview to KUNA.

Earlier in the day Modi had arrived in Kuwait on Saturday on a two-day visit, in the first by an Indian PM in 43 years.

“We are happy to see ‘Make in India’ products, particularly in automobile, electrical and mechanical machinery, and telecom segments making new inroads in Kuwait. India today is manufacturing world-class products at the most affordable cost. Diversification into non-oil trade is key to achieving greater bilateral trade,” he said.

PM Modi said there is considerable potential to expand bilateral cooperation in the pharmaceutical, health, technology, digital, innovation and textile sectors. He urged that business chambers, entrepreneurs and innovators from both sides must engage and interact with each other more.

PM Modi said that India and Kuwait share a deep and historical bond and the relationship between the two has always been one of warmth and friendship and that the cross-currents of history and exchanges through ideas and commerce have brought people closer together.

“We have traded with each other from times immemorial… The discoveries in Failaka Island speak of our shared past. The Indian rupee was a legal tender in Kuwait for over a century till 1961. This shows how closely our economies were integrated,” PM Modi said.

He noted that India has been a natural trading partner of Kuwait and continues to be so in contemporary times and that people-to-people linkages over centuries have fostered a special bond of friendship between the two countries.