PM Modi begins Kuwait trip with visit to labour camp, to meet Emir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited a labour camp here, a visit described by the External Affairs ministry as symbolic of the importance he attached to the welfare of Indian workers abroad.

Modi is visiting Kuwait at the invitation of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. His visit to Kuwait is the first for any Indian Prime Minister to this Gulf nation in 43 years.

As the first programme of his visit to Kuwait, Modi visited a labour camp in Mina Abdullah area of Kuwait with a workforce of around 1,500 Indian nationals. 

 

He interacted with a cross-section of Indian workers from different states of India, enquired about their well-being, also sat at a table with some of them at the Gulf Spic Labour Camp when snacks served.

On Modi's planned visit to the labour camp, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier said that the idea was to express the amount of importance the government of India attaches to our workers. That is the prime purpose.

Modi's visit comes months after over 45 Indians were killed in a devastating fire in a building housing foreign workers in southern Kuwait's Mangaf locality in June.

The visit to the labour camp is symbolic of the importance attached by the Prime Minister to the welfare of Indian workers abroad. In the last few years, the government has undertaken several technology-based initiatives such as e-Migrate portal, MADAD portal and upgraded Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana for the welfare of Indian workers abroad, an MEA statement said.

"Modi interacted with Indian workers & enquired about their well-being. PM's first engagement of the day signifies the importance India attaches to the welfare of Indian workers abroad," the MEA posted on X along with the photos from the event.

The Indian community is the largest expatriate community in Kuwait. Indians constitute 21 per cent (1 million) of the total population of Kuwait and 30 per cent of its work-force (approx 9 lakh). Indian workers top the private sector as well as the domestic sector (DSW) work force list, according to Indian Embassy in Kuwait.

The Gulf nation is among India's top trading partners, with bilateral trade valued at USD 10.47 billion in the financial year 2023-24. Kuwait is India's sixth largest crude supplier, meeting three per cent of the country's energy needs.

Indian exports to Kuwait reached USD 2 billion for the first time, while investments by the Kuwait Investment Authority in India exceed USD 10 billion.

India and Kuwait have enjoyed traditionally friendly relations, with links dating back to pre-oil Kuwait when maritime trade with India was the backbone of its economy, the MEA had said ahead of Modi's visit.