Sushma Swaraj receives warm welcome in Kuwait

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was Tuesday accorded a warm welcome on her arrival in Kuwait where she will engage in several bilateral meetings and interact with the Indian community members during the two days visit to the oil-rich Gulf nation.

Swaraj arrived in Kuwait from Doha where she met Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani on Monday and discussed ways to move forward on the roadmap set by the top leaders of the two countries.

"EAM Sushma Swaraj warmly welcomed in Kuwait, the 'Land of Pearls'. Hectic two days await with a flurry of bilateral meetings and activities," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

"EAM will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait and interact with Indian community members," Kumar said in another tweet.

It is Swaraj's maiden visit to Kuwait.

During her Doha visit, Swaraj held delegation level talks with her counterpart H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Both sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and signed a declaration to establish Joint Commission at the level of External Affairs and Foreign Minister to periodically review progress in various cooperation initiatives, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

India said the bilateral trade in 2017-18 stood at USD 9.9 billion and Indian exports to Qatar during this period registered an increase of 87 per cent over the previous year.

Qatari investments were invited in the areas including petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture and food processing, the statement said.

Both sides expressed satisfaction at the smooth functioning of various institutional mechanisms for strengthening of bilateral relationship.

She also addressed and interacted with over 500 representatives of the Indian community.

Swaraj had arrived in Doha on Sunday on the first leg of her four-day visit to Qatar and Kuwait.

India shares close and friendly bilateral relations with Kuwait.

As per the latest statistics, over 8 lakh Indian nationals legally reside in Kuwait.

Kuwait has been a reliable supplier of crude oil to India. During 2017-18, Kuwait was the ninth largest oil supplier to India and it meets about 4.6 per cent of India's energy needs.

Total bilateral trade with Kuwait during 2016-17 was USD 5.9 billion and for 2017-18 was USD 8.53 billion.