KUWAIT/NEW DELHI: First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received a phone call yesterday from his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj where they discussed bilateral ties. The two officials also tackled the latest development seen in the regional and international arenas. Separately, Kuwait Ambassador to India Fahad Ahmad Al-Awadi presented his credentials to President of the Indian Republic Pranab Mukherjee yesterday. The ceremony was held in the Presidential Palace in the capital New Delhi, the Kuwaiti Embassy in New Delhi said in a statement.

Both the sides took stock of the current India-Kuwait relations and explored ways of strengthening it in various sectors. The statement added that the ambassador conveyed greetings of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to President Mukhejee during the meeting and also conveyed His Highness' wishes for good health and happiness to the president and prosperity and development to the friendly people of India. The Ambassador also underlined the importance of strong economic, political and security relations between India and Kuwait while expressing the strong desire of the Kuwaiti leadership to deepen cooperation in all areas.

The statement also said that the Indian president, on his part, asked the Kuwaiti Ambassador to convey his greetings to the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and wished the Kuwaiti people progress and success. The Indian President also recalled the visit of the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to India in 2006 and the visit of the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah saying that those visits helped to further cement the ties between Kuwait and India.

He also pointed out to the robust trade ties between the two sides which touched USD 14 billion last year while expressing his hope that Ambassador Fahad Al-Awadi would help to further strengthen cooperation with the Indian government to achieve goals which will serve the interests of the peoples in both the friendly countries. - KUNA