Kuwait, April 8 (IANS) Cultural diplomacy was in full flow here, as India and Kuwait Tuesday signed three agreements to promote a two-way traffic of their scholars, artists, scientists and researchers with Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari waxing eloquent about the fabled aquarium and traditional Kuwaiti handicrafts.

India's soft power in the Gulf region, which is reflected in its 4.5 million Indian diaspora and the huge popularity of Indian films, is set to be in spotlight when it hosts a mini-cultural festival in Kuwait later this year.

The two countries signed three agreements in areas of culture, education and science and technology.

The cultural agreement has a broad canvas that includes participation in art exhibitions and book fairs and an exchange of library and art experts, scholars, and archaeologists between the two countries. 

India will also conduct a theatre training programme in Kuwait and Lalit Kala Academy will present an exhibition of contemporary Indian art, said India's ambassador to Kuwait Ajai Malhotra. 

The agreement on cooperation in science and technology will include exchange of scientists and documents. A joint India-Kuwait committee for science and technology will meet every year to spur interaction between scientists of the two countries and exchange scientific data.

The pact on education entails an exchange of educationists and by promoting a knowledge of each other's culture and societies by including a section on each country's history in school textbooks.

The two sides will also share information about the equalisation of degrees and diplomas between their educational institutions. 

Underlining centuries-old cultural bonds between India and Kuwait, Ansari, who is currently on his first visit to the Gulf region after he became the vice-president last year, said: "An Indian does not come to Kuwait as a stranger. The same holds true for a Kuwaiti in India." 

The Vice President, Mohd. Hamid Ansari with the Chairman of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Ali M. Thunayan Al-Ghanim and the Advisor-Amiri Diwan, Mr. Mohamad Abu Al-Hasan, in Kuwait on April 07, 2009.

The Vice President, Mohd. Hamid Ansari addressing at the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in Kuwait on April 07, 2009. The Chairman of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Ali M. Thunayan Al-Ghanim and the Advisor-Amiri Diwan, Mr. Mohamad Abu Al-Hasan are also seen.

The Acting Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah meeting the Vice President, Shri Mohd. Hamid Ansari, at Kuwait

The Vice President, Shri Mohd. Hamid Ansari receiving the Guard of Honour, on his arrival at Kuwait on April 06, 2009. The Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is also seen.

Taking time off from hectic meetings with Kuwait's Amir and senior ministers, Ansari, accompanied by his wife Salma, found time to savour the sights of the famous aquarium that boasts of a dazzling variety of rare marine life. 

"Our visit to the aquarium was a truly memorable experience. We were able to see the diversity of marine life in their natural habitat," Ansari wrote in the visitor's book at the aquarium.

Salma Ansari was impressed by the beautiful designs of the hand-woven masterpieces display at Sadu House that preserves local Bedouin handicraft traditions.

A microcosm of India in the heart of oil-rich Kuwait

Kuwait City, April 8 (IANS) The 580,000-strong Indian community in Kuwait, comprising self-made millionaires, techies, engineers, doctors, professionals and service workers, has created a "microcosm of India" in the oil-rich Gulf emirate.

"Each of us is an ambassador of the best aspects of India," Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari said while praising Indian expatriates here for contributing to the "global profile of Indians" in Kuwait and in the Gulf region as a whole.

Around five million Indians live in the Gulf region and send remittances of over $20 billion annually.

"There has never been a word of unhappiness about the Indian community as a group," Ansari told hundreds of Indians at a gala reception Monday night at the Arraya Ballroom in the plush Courtyard Marriott Hotel.

Reflecting on the gathering, dressed in traditional saris and suits, Ansari said: "It's a microcosm of India reflective of the diversity of the country."

He stressed on the "intertwined destinies" of India and people living in the Gulf region and urged them to be active participants "in an era of co-prosperity" in an increasingly interconnected world.

"The only way to live in today's world is to contribute to each other and their well-being and diversity," Ansari, who is on a three-day visit to Kuwait, said.

"No two countries are better placed in this regard than India and Kuwait. India is keen to be an active partner in this partnership. The well-being of the region and the well-being of India are intertwined," he said.

The story of Indians in Kuwait has been one of enterprise, hard work and the talent for adapting to the culture of the host country without losing the distinctiveness of their own culture.

"Indians are doing extremely well in Kuwait. There is a certain comfort level here with Indians. The Indian business community here is quite successful," Gaurav Oberoi, a young businessmen whose family has been running a lucrative food business here for generations, told IANS.

Yousaf, a young Kuwaiti businessmen, is all praise for Indians. "People here like Indians. Our culture are so similar," said Yousaf, who enjoys watching Indian films starring Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.

Indians living in Kuwait are a motley lot with a sizeable number of people involved in high-end well-paying jobs as managers in banks, petroleum companies, investment funds and IT firms.

Indians also form the back-up community keeping the wheels of the day-to-day life running in the Gulf emirate. Cooks, chauffeurs, housemaids, clerks, mostly from south India, have added to the diversity of the oil-rich Gulf country whose expatriates outstrip native Kuwaitis in numbers.

In a population of 3.4 million people, Kuwaitis comprise 31 percent. The Indian community forms the largest expatriate group.

Around 70 Indian associations are registered with the Indian embassy in Kuwait. There are 17 Indian schools in Kuwait affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education.

India seeks Kuwaiti funds in infrastructure, signs three pacts

Kuwait, April 8 (IANS) With recession hitting its ambitious plans to expand infrastructure, India Tuesday turned to the oil-rich Kuwait for investments in projects ranging from petrochemicals and power to the construction of ports and airports.

The two countries also sought to give a 21st century complexion to their multi-faceted ties by signing three pacts in areas of culture, education and science and technology. 

Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari met Amir Of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and discussed with him a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including expansion of economic ties, the financial meltdown and enhancing cooperation in combating terrorism. 

"India is in a position to absorb $500 billion investment in the next decade or so to meet the growing infrastructural needs. It is here that we see the new horizon of engagement with the Gulf region," Ansari told leading industrialists and fund managers at the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.

"Economic growth in India represents an opportunity for economies in our neighbourhood, including this region. The biggest opportunity is in infrastructure development," he said.

Making a pitch for foreign direct and portfolio investments from Kuwait, Ansari said: "Fertilizer production, for instance, offers opportunity for businessmen and investors wanting to safeguard their investments in troubled times and earn a profitable return on their investments." 

Kuwait reciprocated India's enthusiasm. "India will be a centre of power in Asia, the most attractive destination for FDI and perhaps one of the fastest growing economy in the world," said Ali Mohammed Thunayan Al-Ghanim, chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"The vice president and Kuwait's Amir exchanged experiences on how Kuwait and India have dealt with the global financial crisis. They also discussed how investment cooperation can be exchanged between the two countries," N. Ravi, secretary (East) in India's external affairs ministry, told reporters after the meeting. 

The two leaders underlined the need to impart a "21st century dimension" to the relationship and discussed ways to chaperon "a new generation of leaders, entrepreneurs and businessmen" to take the relationship to new heights. 

The two sides signed three agreements to encourage exchange of scholars, scientists, researchers and cultural figures between the two countries.

Ansari, who arrived here Monday on a three-day visit, met four senior ministers, Acting Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al Hamad Al-Sabah, Finance Minister Mustafa Jassem Mohammad al-Shimali, Foreign Minister Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah and Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. 

The discussions centred on encouraging Kuwaiti investment in petrochemicals, fertilizers, power generation, power distribution and the construction of ports and airports, Ravi said.

Despite the global meltdown and a sharp plunge in oil prices, Kuwait is set to record over $4 billion surplus this year and is now looking to India. According to official estimates, Kuwait has a total budget surplus of $113 billion over the past nine fiscal years and sovereign wealth fund amounting to $80 billion.

Kuwait, home to 580,000 Indians, contributes 12 percent of India's total crude oil imports. Bilateral trade grew to $8.4 billion last year.

The two countries also stressed on joint efforts at the international level to combat terrorism.

Ansari said peace and stability were essential prerequisites for the development of economic relations and stressed on more cooperation in ensuring freedom of navigation and safety of sea lanes in the Persian Gulf through which most of Indian oil imports pass.

The two sides discussed intensifying negotiations between India and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to conclude a landmark free trade area agreement that has the potential to multiply their economic relations manifold.

"We have had intensive negotiations for achieving an India-GCC Free Trade Agreement. It is our hope that this would conclude at the earliest to mutual benefit," Ansari said while underlining India's commitment to pursuing its Look West policy to strengthen relations with the Gulf countries.

India and the GCC have already held three rounds of negotiations on FTA. The fourth round was scheduled to be held in December last year, but recession came in the way.

New dates are likely to be finalised soon, Ravi said.

The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

India determined to expand despite recession: Ansari

Kuwait, April 8 (IANS) Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari Tuesday said India's economic growth will dip to six percent this year but stressed that it will still be one of the highest in a recession-hit world.

Ansari also warned against the perils of resorting to protectionism in recessionary times. 

"Despite the current global financial crisis, we are determined to make the economy expand at a healthy rate," Ansari told leading industrialists and fund managers at the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. 

"During the last five years, our rate of growth was at an average of around nine percent. This year it will be about six percent, still one of the highest globally," he said. 

"Winds of global recession should not mean erection of new walls and protectionist barriers for trade, investments and free movement of service-providers and professionals," he said.

Underlining the need for inclusive growth, Ansari said India's "calibrated, stable and sustainable" process of growth has contributed to the "economic empowerment of millions of citizens, paving their way out of poverty". 

Kuwait was upbeat about India's rising status as an economic power.

"India will be a centre of power in Asia, the most attractive destination for FDI and perhaps one of the fastest growing economy in the world," said Ali Mohammed Thunayan Al-Ghanim, chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

IANS