KUWAIT: Members of the Indian team seen on arrival at the airport.

By Sajeev K Peter

KUWAIT: A 15-member Indian medical team consisting of doctors and healthcare professionals arrived in Kuwait on Saturday. The rapid response team from India arrived here on a special Indian air force flight to offer support to Kuwait government's efforts in combating the spread of coronavirus in the country.

During its stay in Kuwait for a period of two weeks, the medical team will offer medical assistance to Kuwaiti healthcare professionals in testing suspected cases and treating novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, in addition to training them in managing the emerging situation.


  • Kuwait defense ministry personnel with members of the Indian team following their arrival.
  • Equipment are being sterilized before being taken down from the plane.

The medical team has been dispatched by the Indian government following a recent telephone call between His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which both leaders reportedly agreed for joint and coordinated efforts to combat the global pandemic.

The Indian medical team arrives in Kuwait at a critical time, when the community is witnessing an alarming upsurge in the number of positive cases among Indians. As of Saturday, more than 600 Indians have tested positive for COVID-19 in Kuwait and the number is feared to rise in the coming days. Indians form the largest expat community in Kuwait, numbering more than 900,000.

The head of medical services at Kuwait's Defense Ministry Sheikh Dr Abdullah Meshaal Al-Sabah, the deputy Indian ambassador Raj Gopal Singh, officers of the Kuwaiti Air Force and other Indian diplomats were present upon the Indian Air Force aircraft's touchdown at Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base, Kuwait's Defense Ministry's' Moral Guidance Department said in a statement.