India-Kuwait bilateral trade over USD 17 bn, envoy says

Hailing the Indian community in Kuwait for contributing to the country's development and to bilateral relations, Indian ambassador to the Gulf state pointed to trade between the two nations that has exceeded USD 17.63 billion last year.
Ambassador Satish C Mehta said both countries believe that more is possible in every dimension of the relationship as the two nations have had close and friendly political, economic and trade, cultural, and people-to-people linkages.
In a message released on the occasion of upcoming Independence Day, Mehta said infrastructure is the backbone of India's economic development and in the last five-year plan, which ended on March 31, 2012, India invested about USD 500 billion in infrastructure.

"In the current five-year plan (2012-17) we aim to invest USD 1 trillion in infrastructure alone. New roads, railway lines, ports, airports, metros and power plants are springing up all over the country to support a renaissance in manufacturing," Mehta said.
Kuwaiti investments in India are in excess of USD 2.5 billion, he said.
To realise this and explore new avenues of cooperation, Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs of Kuwait, Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah visited India in March, followed by visits of Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission and Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed in July.