Indian Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari, who is visiting Kuwait, Tuesday met Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah; the Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah; and the Kuwaiti Ministers for Oil, Foreign Affairs and Finance.

The key agenda for detailed diplomatic talks included necessitating action against terrorism networks worldwide; the state of affairs in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan; and concern about energy security and safety of sea lanes. The two countries also signed agreements related to cultural exchange programme, science and technology, as well as education.

N. Ravi, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, told the media that, once the global economic scenario starts showing improvement, India and Kuwait intend prioritizing partnerships in the sphere of fertilizers, generation and distribution of power, and management of ports and airports.

At a meeting organized by the Kuwait Chambers of Commerce Industry, Ansari told prominent industrialists and fund managers that despite the ongoing economic crisis, India is “determined to make the economy expand at a healthy rate.”

Terming India’s growth process as “calibrated, stable and sustainable,” Ansari 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.”