New Delhi [India], December 22 (ANI): India and Kuwait signed four Memorandum of Understandings in the areas of defence, sports and cultural cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf nation, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday.

MEA Secretary CPV and OIA, Arun Kumar Chatterjee during a special briefing today, said the MoUs are expected to deepen the multifaceted bilateral relationship as well as open avenues for newer areas of cooperation.

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"Following the delegation level talks today, four bilateral documents were signed during the visit. The first one is a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation, the second one is a Cultural Exchange program for the years 2025-2029, the third is an executive program on cooperation in the field of sports for the period 2025- 2028. We also had Kuwait joining as a member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA)," he said.

"We are pretty confident that this historic visit of the Prime Minister will open up a new chapter in the relationship between India and Kuwait. Both the sides have been able to identify several important areas of cooperation and the governments will be working towards fulfillment of the plans that have been made during this visit," Chatterjee added.

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The MoU on Defence cooperation will institutionalize bilateral cooperation in the area of defence. Key areas of cooperation include training, exchange of personnel and experts, joint exercises, cooperation in defence industry, supply of defence equipment, and collaboration in research and development, among others, a statement by MEA said.

"The MoU between India and Kuwait in the field of Defence cooperation will institutionalise the bilateral cooperation in the areas of defence. The key areas of cooperation would include training, exchange of personnel and experts, joint exercises, cooperation in defence industry, supply of defence equipment and collaboration in research and development," Chatterjee said.

Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between India and Kuwait for the years 2025-2029 will facilitate greater cultural exchanges in art, music, dance, literature and theatre, cooperation in preservation of cultural heritage, research and development in the area of culture and organizing of festivals, an MEA statement said.

"The cultural exchange program will facilitate greater cultural exchanges in art, music, dance, literature and theater. Cooperation in preservation of cultural heritage, research and development in the areas of culture and organization of festivals," he said.

Executive Programme (EP) for Cooperation in the Field of Sports for the years 2025-2028 will strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field of sports between India and Kuwait by promoting exchange of visits of sports leaders for experience sharing, participation in programs and projects in the field of sports, exchange of expertise in sports medicine, sports management, sports media, sports science, among others, the statement said.

"The executive program for cooperation in the field of sports will strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of sports between India and Kuwait by promoting exchange of visits of sports leaders for experience sharing, participation in programs and projects in the field of sports, exchange of expertise in sports medicine, sports management, sports media, sports science among some of the areas that we have identified," Chatterjee said.

Kuwait became a member of the ISA. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) collectively covers the deployment of solar energy and addresses key common challenges to the scaling up of use of solar energy to help member countries develop low-carbon growth trajectories, the MEA statement said.

"Kuwait becoming a member of the International Solar Alliance collectively covers the deployment of solar energy and addresses key common challenges to the scaling up of use of solar energy to help member states develop low carbon growth trajectories," Chatterjee said.

The MEA Secy said that Kuwaiti side acknowledged the important contribution made by Indians there in their economy. Both sides agreed that working groups in the sectors of health and education will identify new sectors of cooperation.

"Regarding the health and education sector, both the sides acknowledged the important contribution that Indians are making in the Kuwaiti economy today and the Kuwaiti side also acknowledged the major contribution that the Indian diaspora is making for the development of the Kuwaiti economy on the issues like health and education. We have separate working groups that have been set up. Both the leaders agreed that these working groups will be meeting frequently and regularly to identify new areas of cooperation. On manpower front also we have a joint working group that exclusively looks at manpower-related issues of Indians in Kuwait and that working group usually looks at and addresses the major issues that are there in this sector but in the general context the leaders discussed about the contribution of the of the Indian community here," Chatterjee said.

He said that intensification of visits from Kuwaiti side may be anticipated as new areas of cooperation have been identified.

"The elevation of a relationship to a strategic partnership means you have taken your bilateral relationship to the next level. Which means you will have greater intensity of cooperation in several areas, plus we have identified new areas. We will see intensification of exchanges and visits in the coming days to materialize whatever has been planned by the leaders of both the countries," he said.

Chatterjee added that health is an important sector that has been identified for cooperation.

"Health and pharmaceuticals is one important area which both the sides have identified for cooperation and that could include investments by the Kuwaiti side in India or expansion of the trade basket to increase pharmaceutical exports also from India. Pharmaceutical would continue to be one of the important sectors of cooperation between our two countries,' he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his two-day official visit to Kuwait, and emplaned for New Delhi on Sunday.

Visiting Kuwait at the invitation of Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait, PM Modi held multiple engagements and held discussions to further deepen the India-Kuwait ties.

In a special gesture, the PM of Kuwait came to see off PM Modi at the airport as he left for India. (ANI)

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