OUR CORRESPONDENT / NEW DELHI
INDIA’S External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be on a four-day visit to Qatar and Kuwait from Sunday.
The ministry said in a statement that, on 28th and 29th October Mrs Swaraj will have engagements in Qatar while on 30th and 31st of October she will be in Kuwait.
During her visit to Qatar, the External Affairs Minister will interact with her counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and also call on Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. She will also interact with the Indian community in Doha.
India and Qatar share millennia old historic multi-dimensional, relations. About seven lakh Indians form the largest expatriate community in Qatar.
It is a reliable energy partner, supplying more than 50 per cent of India’s natural gas imports. India’s bilateral trade with Qatar stood at 9.9 billion US dollars in 2017-18.
During her visit to Kuwait, Mrs Swaraj will hold a bilateral meeting with her counterpart Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah.
She will also call on Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and interact with the Indian community. India and Kuwait have close and friendly bilateral relations.
Kuwait is a reliable energy supplier to India and hosts about ten lakh Indians forming the largest expatriate community. India’s bilateral trade with Kuwait in 2017-18 was 8.5 billion US dollar.
This will be Mr Swaraj’s first visit as External Affairs Minister to both the countries. The visit is in pursuit of India’s objective of enhanced engagement with the Gulf region which is in India’s extended neighbourhood.
It will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues.