Kuwait City: During his trip to Kuwait, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the recruitment of domestic workers. The new agreement facilitates a smoother process of recruitment of domestic workers and provides them better protection against exploitation.
The MoU sets employment parameters for protection of the rights of both the employee and the employer. In addition, an agreement was reached to put in place a system to provide domestic workers with 24-hour assistance.
Dr S Jaishankar signed the MoU in the presence of Kuwait’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ahmed Al Sabah, the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, Sibi George and Kuwait’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Majdi Al Dhafiri.
Bilateral relations
Arriving in Kuwait early on Thursday, Jaishankar met with Kuwait’s Prime Minister, Sabah Al Khaled Al Sabah, to deliver a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed to Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah.
During their meeting, both sides discussed the long and friendly relation between the two countries. Jaishankar thanked Kuwait for the generous and immediate help extended by the Gulf state in the form of oxygen and medical supplies to India during the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.
Dr. Ahmed set up talks between the Indian Minister and Kuwait’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, where they discussed a variety of topics from food and cyber security to cooperation in the energy sector.
60th anniversary
Jaishankar’s visit coincides with Kuwait and India’s 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The two countries have a shared history of joint cooperation in trade, investments and human resources.
Indians comprise the largest expat community in Kuwait, with around 1.45 million residing in the Gulf state. They make up 36 per cent of the population of Kuwait, estimated at four million.
