By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Kuwait: Indo – Kuwait Friendship Society has written a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley urging him to take initiatives on setting up a joint investment fund and various joint venture projects between Kuwait and India, while at the same time considering a favourable tax treatment for such a fund.
India and Saudi Arabia has recently agreed to continue discussions on setting up a joint investment fund, including the Saudi request for having favourable tax legislation upon setting of the fund. The visit by the Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to India last November gave a new boost to the growing bilateral relations between the states. IKFS requested Jaitley that series business visits by senior Indian and Kuwaiti leaders are required to the further strengthening of bilateral ties.
As per the figures released by Indian Ministry of Commerce, the Trade exchanges between Kuwait and India (Bilateral trade) reached $18.21 billion in the 2013-2014 year.
Dr.Ghalib Al-Mashoor, a senior economist and the president of IKFS said that there are significant structural changes being planned in India towards opening the economy and inviting foreign investments especially in the fields of trade, media, culture, agriculture tourism, health, industry, technology and skill development etc., involving many Indian ministries.
Since India is importing 70 percent of its energy supplies from the countries of the region, Kuwait will positively agree to set up a joint investment fund with India and will not deny India’s contribution towards maintaining peace in the Arabian gulf region, IKFS believes.
There are many major Indian companies operating in Kuwait including Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Wipro, State Bank of India, etc. Kuwait is also home to over eight hundred thousand Indians, including a growing number of professionals, and is one of the 4th largest Indian diaspora in the world.