SPEECH
BY SHRI K.R. NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, WHILE ACCEPTING
THE CREDENTIALS FROM MR. ABDULLAH AHMED MOHAMED AL-MURAD,
AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE OF THE STATE OF KUWAIT TO INDIA
NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 23,
1999
Excellency,
It gives me great pleasure
to accept your credentials as Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of the State of Kuwait to India.
India and Kuwait share
a rich history of commercial and cultural interaction, spread over several
centuries when our navigators, merchants and scholars traversed the waters
of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf. These ties have continued to flourish,
strengthened as they have been by geographical proximity, by shared cultural
values and by our common perceptions on regional and global issues. Kuwait
is an important part of India's neighbourhood and together, we belong to
the larger fraternity of the Indian Ocean whose waters wash our shores and
link our destinies.
Both India and Kuwait
are committed to giving a contemporary value and substance to our bilateral
relationship. We have a tradition of high-level interaction and dialogue
at the political level. We also exchange several delegations every year
representing the trade, industrial and financial sectors which have strengthened
and diversified our economic links. Kuwait provides India with crude oil
and hydrocarbon products, while we send to Kuwait a number of traditional
items such as rice, sugar and tea. In recent years, there has been a qualitative
change in our product-mix, with India now exporting in increasing value
pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, industrial equipment particularly for
the oil and power sectors, as also computer software. Indians have contributed
significantly to Kuwait's infrastructure development, including the setting
up of housing complexes and industrial plants. Today, Indian professionals
such as doctors, engineers, architects, managers and chartered accountants
are being recruited by Kuwaiti organisations in increasing numbers.
Free and fair elections
and the robust debates in the Kuwaiti Parliament make Kuwait a thriving
democracy. Hence, it is only natural that the Parliaments of the two countries
have established such close ties with each other through regular exchange
of visits.
We in India deeply cherish
our ties with Kuwait. We look forward to a visit to India by His Highness
Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Crown Prince and Prime Minister
of Kuwait, which will provide a new fillip to our relations. I would also
like to convey through Your Excellency my warm greetings and good wishes
to the people of Kuwait for their prosperity and progress and for the good
health and long life to His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,
the Emir of the State of Kuwait.
I wish you, Excellency,
all success in your diplomatic mission in India and would like to assure
you of the full cooperation of the Government of India in supporting initiatives
to strengthen our bilateral relations.
Thank you
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