By Sajeev K Peter

KUWAIT: Indian embassy, Kuwait hosted an Iftar get-together at the embassy premises for community members, embassy officials, media representatives and guests on Tuesday. Indian Ambassador Sibi George, in his message on the occasion, extended greetings of the holy Ramadan to the leadership of Kuwait, members of the Indian community and Kuwaiti friends. The guests dined, conversed, and exchanged congratulations on the occasion of Ramadan in an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship.

The ambassador thanked His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for hosting the large Indian community in Kuwait and for their leadership in strengthening the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.

"Ramadan is a month of inner reflection, patience, gratitude, love, humility and self-restraint. It gives an important message of serving the needy and the underprivileged. It also reaffirms the importance of equality and compassion. I welcome each one of you personally to this evening," the ambassador said in his address.

The ambassador also highlighted a few developments in Kuwait-India bilateral relations over the last two years. "Despite the many challenges of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, we have been able to make significant progress in our bilateral political and economic relations. Our political leadership is in regular touch," he pointed out. He recalled the visit of Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah to India in March 2021 and that of India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar to Kuwait in June last year.

"We were able to establish an India-Kuwait Joint Commission meeting at the level of the foreign ministers. In June last year, we also organized the first-ever regional ambassadors' meeting in Kuwait chaired by Jaishankar which was attended by all Indian ambassadors in GCC countries and Iran," he said.

He said the embassy has also been making steady progress in its engagement with the community. The three new outsourcing centers would make it easy for the community to avail consular services. The embassy has reduced fee for many services; for example, for photograph services the fee has been reduced from KD 2.750 in the past to 300 fils now, form filling for visas from KD 3.000 to 100 fils, form filling for passports from KD 1.000 to 100 fils, internet facility for form filling from KD 1.000 to 100 fils, he said. K-NET facilities are fully functional at all three places, he added.